Appleby Off To A Good Start

Thursday, March 29th 2007, 7:52 pm

By: News On 6

HUMBLE, Texas (AP) _ Defending champ Stuart Appleby birdied six of the last 12 holes on the way to a 6-under-par 66 in the first round of the Houston Open. That puts him in a tie for the clubhouse lead with Kevin Sutherland and Johnson Wagner.

Six more golfers are in at 67, including veterans Jeff Maggert and Justin Leonard.

Many of the PGA's top stars are skipping this event to prepare for next week's Masters. That list includes the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh.