Haven, Wisconsin, Aug 15, 2004
NRI Press
Vijay Singh knows the end is out there somewhere, the point where
his skills begin to diminish and his body breaks down and his putter
does funny things in his hands.
At 41, he hears the clock ticking, the one that turned Arnold Palmer's
hair white and Jack Nicklaus' back brittle.
So when Singh was the last man standing as the sun set over Whistling
Straits on Sunday evening, the surprised and grateful survivor of a
three-man playoff in the 86th PGA Championship, he knew exactly what
it meant in the big picture.
"I think this is the biggest accomplishment I've ever had in my
whole career," Singh said after beating Justin Leonard and Chris
DiMarco by one stroke in the three-hole playoff. "I don't have
that many years to contend, probably another five or six.
"I'd like to win a few more before I finish. This is a great start."
Singh won the first major in Wisconsin in 71 years, on a course that
finally lived up to its reputation as a monster, despite shooting a
final-round 76 in which he made zero birdies.
It was the highest-ever final round by a PGA champion and the worst
final round by a major champion since Reg Whitcombe shot a closing 78
at Royal St. George's in winning the 1938
Singh needed help from Leonard, who bogeyed three of the final five
holes in regulation, including the brutal 500-yard 18th.
Was it the ugliest victory of Singh's career?
"It's the prettiest," he said. "I must say that I really
tried my hardest out there. I just hung in there. I never gave up and
I just said, 'I'm going to make a putt sooner or later.' "
It came later, but it came just in time.
Singh finally made a birdie on the 361-yard 10th hole, the first of
the playoff. He made textbook pars on Nos. 17 and 18, the final two
playoff holes, and his 1-under score was enough to beat Leonard and
DiMarco, both of whom made three pars.
It was the end to a crazy day in which Leonard let victory slip away,
Ernie Els three-putted the final green to extend his personal misery
in the majors and Whistling Straits suddenly stopped being so cute and
cuddly.
"Coming down the stretch, the conditions got really tough,"
Singh said. "I knew nobody was going to birdie in. It was a tough
day. It looked ugly. When you look at the score, I shot 4-over but it
was a good 4-over."
Leonard, the 1997 British Open champion, was seemingly in control as
he picked his way across the Straits' lunar landscape in a freshening
breeze. He birdied No. 13 to get to 11-under, but bogeyed No. 14, missed
a short birdie putt on No. 15 and bogeyed the par-five 16th.
Still, he had a one-stroke lead over Singh and DiMarco on the 18th
tee and split the fairway with his drive. All he had to do was get his
ball on the green with a 5-iron from 204 yards and he could two-putt
for the victory.
But instead of playing for the fat of the green, he aimed at the flagstick,
tucked in the left corner, and came up just short. His ball nestled
in deep grass on the side of a hill.
"I had a good line and I just felt like it was a really good 5-iron,"
Leonard said. "I think I had 197 or 198 yards to carry (the chasm
in front of the green). Really, I was trying to hit it at the hole.
If I hit it to the right, I have a really hard two-putt."
Singh was surprised Leonard took dead aim.
"I thought it was going to be right (of the flag)," he said.
"I mean, you could always get up and down from the right side.
There was a lot of green to work with. Maybe he mis-clubbed it. I don't
know what happened. But I was surprised to see it come up short."
Even though Singh's ball was on the green, about 25 feet from the hole,
Leonard asked him to putt because Singh was away. His attempt was weak,
stopping 4 feet short. Leonard then chipped poorly and failed to save
par from 10 feet.
Singh made his 4-footer and joined Leonard and DiMarco at 8-under 280.
"Justin let me off on the last hole," Singh said, "and
on a few other holes before that. Maybe he should have chipped first
before me. I was surprised he asked me to go ahead and putt."
DiMarco, who started the final round five shots behind Singh and four
behind Leonard, shot a 1-under 71 but left a 15-foot birdie attempt
short on the 72nd hole.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous," he said. "I
hit a good putt, just a little bit short. I was just a little tentative
with it. My tendency when I am nervous is to come up just a hair short.
I hit it dead center."
In the playoff, Singh smashed a driver 325 yards on No. 10 and had
just 36 yards to the hole. He pitched to within 7 feet and rolled in
the putt for the only birdie by any of the playoff participants over
the last five holes of regulation and the three playoff holes.
"I was really glad to see that putt go in," he said.
The victory was Singh's fifth of the year, putting him in a solid position
for PGA Tour player of the year honors for the first time in his career.
He won $1.125 million and improved his Tour-leading money total to $6,938,565.
Singh was ranked No. 3 in the Official World Ranking going into the
PGA. The world ranking is to be updated today, but Singh cannot go to
No. 1, the position Tiger Woods has held a record 332 weeks.
"Tiger has not played badly this year," Singh said. "He
has not won that many times (just once) but he finishes in the top 10
every time he tees it up. He's still playing well and the ranking goes
by points.
"They're going to have to come up with something else, or I'm
going to be No. 2 for the rest of my life."
He forgot about Els.
No. 2 starting the week, Els could have joined the playoff party had
he not three-putted from 80 feet for a bogey on the 72nd hole. He left
Whistling Straits without comment, the pain etched on his face.
Els lost to Phil Mickelson in the Masters despite a final-round 67,
ruined a chance to win the U.S. Open with a final-round 80 and lost
a playoff to Todd Hamilton in the British Open.
Whistling Straits gave up only 14 sub-par scores, just one day after
giving up 38. The PGA of America moved back some tees, lengthening the
course to 7,536 yards. They tucked pins into corners on every green.
And the combination of wind and sun finally got the course to play firm
and fast, the way it was designed to play but didn't early in the week.
"It was hard today because the wind got up and the course dried
out a little bit," Singh said. "Gosh, it played two or three
shots harder than it did the first day. It's a great venue for any event.
"I enjoyed playing here. I think everybody in the field enjoyed
the golf course."
As for the big Fijian, he almost feels as if he's discovered golf's
fountain of youth.
"I could play another 18 holes," he said. "I feel great.
I feel that I'm in the best shape physically I've ever been in and I'm
not stopping here."
If the window of opportunity is closing, Singh sure is enjoying the
view.