FINAL LEADERBOARD -21 S Appleby (Aus) -20 J Kaye (US) -19 E Els (SA), T Woods (US) -16 A Scott (Aus), S Cink (US), V Singh (Fij) PGA Tour schedule 2005

The Australian closed with a 67 to edge out Jonathan Kaye by one shot on 21 under par overall.

Tiger Woods (68) and Ernie Els (71) tied for third, two shots behind, but overnight leader Vijay Singh slumped to fifth place.

The world number one had a triple bogey at the 12th as he struggled to a 74.

Appleby arrived in Hawaii last Tuesday with an inflamed nerve which caused pain in his left leg.

But after a lacklustre 74 in the opening round he picked up his game and mastered the tricky conditions on Sunday to claim the title.

After three days of benign weather, a front swept through overnight, dumping two inches of rain and forcing a four-hour delay.

There was also a strong wind and most of the leaders struggled to break 70.

Kaye had a chance to tie at the last, but missed his long birdie chance after a poor pitch.

One of the few to go under 70 in the final round was Woods, who shot a 68 to claim a share of third and boost his claims that he is getting back to his best.

Singh, who has assumed the American's mantle as the best golfer in the world, had led since the first round.

But his bogey at the fourth hole ended a run of 57 consecutive holes without a dropped shot and his triple bogey at the 12th ended his bid for victory.