Pebble Beach, Calif. ? Vijay Singh wasn’t in the lead Friday at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, but it sure seemed that way.

For one thing, Singh got the most difficult course out of the way with a 4-under 68 at Spyglass Hill that left him only one stroke behind Luke Donald of England.

And no one knows what to make of the other guys atop the leaderboard.

Donald bogeyed the last hole at Pebble Beach but still shot a 65, putting him in contention for the first time since he won the Southern Farm Bureau Classic — the same week as the Tour Championship — at the end of the ’02 season.

Among those one stroke behind were J.J. Henry (70) and Ken Duke, a 35-year-old who has played tours in Canada, South America and Asia and is competing for only the 10th time on the PGA Tour. Tom Pernice Jr. let a great round at Spyglass get away with bogeys on his last two holes for a 68, and also was in the group one shot behind.

Singhemerged late in the afternoon, when sunshine gave way to cool, overcast skies on the Monterey Peninsula. Singh, who hasn’t finished out of the top 10 since the PGA Championship in August, was solid on the tough front nine