Even after birdies on three of his last six holes for a 3-under 70, matching the best score on another punishing, wind-swept day on west Maui, all Appleby could talk about Saturday were the shots he left out on the Plantation course and how he would have to bring his game up a notch.

"I’ll have to knuckle down," Appleby said. "There’s some good players behind me, and I’ll have to play good golf."

No one was conceding the season-opening tournament to Appleby, although his name atop the leaderboard is daunting. The Aussie is quickly becoming the King of Kapalua, and he has a chance Sunday to become the first player in nearly 50 years to capture the winners-only event three straight times.

"Every part of his game is very sound, very sharp," U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell said after a 71 left him two shots behind and in the final group again with Appleby. "He’s going to be tough to beat tomorrow. But I believe I’ve got the tools to beat him."

Campbell saw Saturday what he is up against.

If the pictures of past champions in the locker room were not enough _ two side-by-side of Appleby in the winner’s cream blazer with a lei around his neck _ his golf in such demanding conditions should be a reminder.

On a course where the average score is 74.8 over three days, Appleby has dropped only two shots over his last 34 holes and looked very much in control by posting a 6-under 213 through three rounds.

"Winning two years in a row, pretty much being in control of this tournament most of the way, he’s the guy to beat," said Jim Furyk, a past winner at Kapalua who shot 72 and was three shots behind.

Only a half-dozen players were under par, and only one Kapalua rookie was in that mix. Lucas Glover needed some magic getting there, with a hole-in-one on the 203-yard eighth hole _ for a 70 to finish at 217.

Vijay Singh (74) and Sergio Garcia (73) each birdied the last hole to get to 218.

"If you just miss it, you’re going to hit it way worse than you think," Singh said. "It was a grind. Putts like 3 or 4 feet it’s like, ‘Please, hit a good, solid stroke."’

Scoring has always been low at Kapalua since the tournament moved here in 1999, with the highest winning score coming in 2000 when Tiger Woods beat Ernie Els in a playoff after they finished at 16 under.

This looks more like a U.S. Open _ on the scoreboard and inside the ropes.

Not even the crashing surf below can put these guys at ease, as they battle wind that makes it difficult to stand still and greens that are firm and fast, making it tough to get the ball close to the hole.

The average score was 75.04, the second-toughest behind Friday’s average of 75.5.

"I don’t think anybody was expecting this kind of a battle the first week of the year," Mark Calcavecchia said. "I certainly wasn’t. I’m exhausted."

Calcavecchia made a 15-foot putt on the 18th for only the second eagle of the tournament, giving him a 73 to finish seven shots out of the lead.