ASSOCIATED PRESS Vijay Singh took a three-stroke lead into today's final round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Kapalua, Maui.

Singh solidifies lead

A three-stroke cushion gives the Fijian what may be his best shot yet at a title in Kapalua

KAPALUA, Maui » If Vijay Singh doesn't win the Mercedes-Benz Championship today, it's unlikely he'll ever light that victory cigar.

Close so often since this tournament moved to Maui in 1999, Singh holds a three-shot lead over first-timer Trevor Immelman and three-time participant Adam Scott entering the final round of the winners-only event.

Not that he needs any reminding, but Singh has managed to win only two of his last five tournaments where he held a 54-hole lead. And twice in the last three years he has finished second here, including losing to three-time defending champion Stuart Appleby in a playoff in 2006.

But if those negative numbers bother the former top-ranked golfer in the world, he gave no indication of it during yesterday's news conference. In fact, when asked to address those failures, Singh answered the question head-on.

"I'm going to go out and try to play the game that I want to play," Singh said. "I'm going to go out there and strike the ball the way I want to strike the ball and if I manage to do that, if I succeed, you know, striking the ball the way I want to, I think the results are going to be there.

"I cannot help whatever the other guys do. I cannot go out there and wish they would play bad. I'm going to go out there and try to play the best I can and if my best is good enough, that's good for me. If I'm not on for a win, I shouldn't be sitting here. I'm going to go out and try to win. That's my goal. My desire is to win as many as possible."

Since 1994, Singh has held the lead entering the final round 27 times and has managed to win 17 of those tournaments. Three times he led major events after 54 holes and came away with wins at the 1998 PGA Championship, 2000 Masters and 2004 PGA Championship.

Not that the Mercedes is quite in that category, but it's still good to beat the best golfers in the world wherever they are assembled. And this year's field is strong enough, even without Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson knocking it around with him.

Scott has proven to be a quality golfer on the rise. And Immelman was the PGA Tour's rookie of the year in 2006, so it's not as if this will be a walkover for Singh. Granted, he has the experience of playing here more than any other golfer currently in the top 10, but Immelman addressed that at yesterday's news conference.

"I found in my short career so far, sometimes it helps not to know too much, because if you know too much you know where the trouble is and on occasion you can be thinking about that instead of thinking about where you want to go," the 27-year-old South African said.

Singh knew where to go often enough yesterday to fire a 3-under 70 to leave him at 11-under 208, three shots clear of Scott and Immelman. Scott fired his second consecutive 4-under round of 69 to move to 8-under 211. Immelman arrived at the same 54-hole score with a solid 1-under 72.

But if anyone should be a little closer to Singh, it's Immelman. He hit all 18 greens in regulation, but putted like a man not comfortable on Bermuda greens. Singh did a far better job, with five birdies and two bogeys. Immelman managed only three numbers in red all day with two bogeys. He had a chance to move into second all alone, but missed a makable eagle putt at the last.

"It was frustrating on the greens, obviously," Immelman said. "The two three-putts early on didn't help me. But all in all, I hung in there and it was nice to hit a great shot to the last. Another putt there that fell short, so I'll need a special day to catch Vijay."

Will MacKenzie and J.B. Holmes are another shot back at 7-under 212. Holmes overcame a double bogey at the par-5 ninth to play the back nine in 4 under to shoot 71 for the day. MacKenzie also had an uneven round with five bogeys to finish with an even-par 73.

"I'll need to go 5 or 6 under on the back to catch the leaders," Holmes said. "I can do that. I just have to do a better job on the front side. That's where you can get into trouble."

Tory Matteson is in sixth at 6-under 213 some five shots off the pace. Luke Donald shot a second straight 71 to find himself in seventh at 5-under 214. But this tournament belongs to Singh. If he can control his shots in the windy conditions that have plagued the Plantation Course throughout, he should emerge the winner.

He will be paired with Scott, who conceded that Singh's experience will be helpful, but that alone will not win the tournament for Singh.

"Experience is important and three shots is a big lead for a player of Vijay's caliber," Scott said. "But he still has to put the ball in the hole. I've been in his position before, and it is harder to close the deal than people think. If you stumble a bit at the beginning, all of a sudden there is a lot more pressure on you."