The Hindu : Sport / Golf : Stunning year for Vijay Singh

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 08, 2004

Sport

Sport - Golf

Stunning year for Vijay Singh

JACKSONVILLE (FLORIDA), DEC. 7. Vijay Singh made sure there was no debate about who was No. 1 in golf.

Disappointed last year by losing to Tiger Woods in a close race, Singh used that as motivation to turn in a dominant season that made him an easy choice as PGA Tour player of the year.

``This year was a landslide,'' Singh said on Monday from New York, where he was presented the Jack Nicklaus Award, which is voted on by PGA Tour players. ``My thought this year was to play hard and play good for the whole season. That was a fulfilling thing. I didn't have to wait for the votes.''

Singh dethroned Woods at No. 1 in the world ranking by beating him in a dramatic duel outside Boston in September. He finished so strong that Singh shattered Woods' earnings record, becoming the first $10 million man in golf. And by winning six of his last nine events, he became only the sixth player in PGA Tour history to win at least nine times.

``It's been a big year,'' Singh said. ``I never thought it was going to be this big, but it's so satisfying to know it has come to this. It was well worth the journey. It's just overwhelming.''

Great comeback

It was tough enough coming from South Pacific islands of Fiji, where Singh used to run across an airport runway to get to the golf course.

Banished from tournament golf over allegations he doctored a scoreboard, Singh worked as a club pro in Borneo and a bouncer at a bar in Scotland until he could save up enough money to play on the European tour, and eventually make his way over to America.

But the toughest leg might have been this year. Singh figured it would take at least two or three years to have a chance to be No. 1 in the world, and he got it done sooner than anyone imagined.

It started with a victory at Pebble Beach, then back-to-back wins in New Orleans and Houston. He won the Buick Open outside Detroit by holding off John Daly and Woods, then captured his third major at the PGA Championship in a playoff at Whistling Straits.

``I had something to prove this year, knowing last year was so close,'' Singh said.

Singh swept all the big awards in golf — the Arnold Palmer Award for winning the money title with $10.9 million and the Vardon Trophy for having the lowest scoring average. He earlier locked up the PGA of America player of the year, which is based on points.

Next up is the encore. — AP

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport