US Tour: Australian Stuart Appleby widened his lead to seven strokes with five holes to play at the Houston Open yesterday, closing in on his second title of the season.

Appleby, the leader from the opening round, began the day two clear of Sweden's Mathias Gronberg and stretched his advantage to seven at the Redstone Golf Club over the first 13 holes that mixed seven birdies with a single bogey to leave him six-under on the day and 20 under for the tournament.

Gronberg, a winner four times on the European Tour but chasing his first PGA success, allowed the Australian to open up a comfortable cushion when he bogeyed the ninth to share second place with Bob Estes at 13-under-par. Jerry Smith was a shot back on 12-under-par through 14 holes.

Vijay Singh's bid for a third consecutive Houston title ended with a one-under 71. The world number three failed to mount a charge on the final day, mixing three birdies with a pair of bogeys for a total of two-under 286.

Steve Stricker of the USA set the early clubhouse target of 12-under-par 276 after a final round of 66.

Also amongst the early finishers were Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell. Harrington fired a final round of 71 for a four-under-par total of 284 while McDowell finished on level par 288 after a 75.