KAPALUA, Maui — Vijay Singh has been the guy to beat here before, and golfers have. He goes into the final round of the PGA Tour's season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship today as the man to beat again.

The relentless Singh holds a three-stroke advantage after yesterday's third round at Kapalua's Plantation Course. He has finished in the top 10 all seven years he has teed it up here, including seconds to Stuart Appleby last year and in 2004. Two years ago he was ahead for 66 holes before he faded to fifth with a triple bogey on the final day.

About all Singh has not done is win. Today presents his best opportunity after a 3-under-par 70 yesterday left him at 11-under 208.

Trevor Immelman (72) went into yesterday's round a shot behind Singh and came out three back. Adam Scott (69) is also three behind, with a radically different method.

Immelman, the 2006 Rookie of the Year from South Africa, played the front in 1-over, in the midst of nine consecutive pars. He birdied two of the final four — barely missing eagle on the 18th — to tie Scott.

The Australian Scott was also 1-over at the turn, but birdied five of the final seven. J.J. Henry's 68 was the day's best round, and tied Immelman and Will MacKenzie for low round of the very windy week. Henry, a TCU graduate, won the 1998 Western Athletic Conference championship when he aced the next-to-last hole.

Singh hopes he has this championship nemesis, which would be his 30th tour title, wrapped up by then. The only hole that seems to have his number this week is the 18th. The 663-yard par-5 is statistically the easiest hole on the course in Kapalua's 40-mph gusts, playing nearly half a shot under par. Singh has parred it each day.

"It's like giving shots away, but hopefully tomorrow I'll get that right ..." said Singh, who won the Sony Open in Hawai'i the week after his 2005 disappointment here. "I think I just blank out there you know? ... I have to be more aggressive. ... I have to just hit into the middle of the green and if it comes down to that tomorrow, I'll do that."

No one doubts him after his career and history here. And no one doubts the wind will continue to howl.

Yesterday was the first time scoring standards were allowed on the course, presumably because it was the first time the carriers could stand up with them. But that was still a struggle, with some kids double-teaming the signs to keep them stable in the erratic gusts.

"We didn't have the rain today, but the wind was just as strong," Immelman said. "It doesn't make it any easier, but we're used to the strength of the wind and the ridiculous clubs we're hitting for yardage into the breeze."

Immelman expects the worst in terms of weather, but figures Singh will be at his best, as usual. The man who is seventh in the World Golf Ranking — and who was No. 1 in 2004 with nine wins — rarely backs up.

And, as Singh acknowledges, he knows this course as well as anyone. Even yesterday, when his ball-striking was "wishy-washy," he knew where to put the ball to stay out of trouble as he scrambled. He had just 27 putts on Kapalua's massive greens, making nine from outside 4 feet, including a birdie from 50 feet-plus.

He called his strokes with his belly putter "the great equalizer," along with his history here.

"I've played in all the conditions over here so I think I have more knowledge about this golf course than anybody else out here," Singh said. "I'm going to make good use of that."

Scott, Immelman and the small pack of players who still have a realistic shot, don't doubt that.

"I'll need a special day to catch Vijay," Immelman said, later specifying 65 as a number to shoot for. "He's such a great player and he's won 29 events or something silly like that so you don't expect him to give it away. But, I've come from three behind before to win tournaments."

Scott, ranked fourth in the world, probably needs an entire day like yesterday's back nine. His closing rush started with a 12-foot birdie putt on the 12th. He got to 7-under with birdies from inside 10 feet on Nos. 14, 15 and 16, then sank a 12-footer on the final hole.

The winner today gets $1.1 million of the $5.5 million purse, and a Mercedes-Benz GL450.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.