VIJAY SINGH NOW RANKED: WORLDS NUMBER SEVEN GOLFER

Wins Major US tournament.

Vijay Singh moved up two positions to seventh in the world rankings after his victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational Golf Tournament last week. The 44-year-old Indo- Fijian claimed the 31st PGA Tour title of his career and his second win of the season when he finished two strokes clear of nearest rival American Rocco Mediate in Florida on Sunday March 18.

After faltering start and a couple of close calls Vijay won his 31st PGA Tour title by two shots . One of four players tied for the lead early on the front nine, Singh surged ahead with four birdies in five holes from the fifth and could afford to bogey 16 and 17 before clinching the win. Nearst rival Rocco Mediate, who scored an eagle at the par-five sixth, managed a strong secured second place with a 67, one stroke ahead of fellow-American Vaughn Taylor, the overnight leader, who closed with a 73.

Four-times champion Tiger Woods, boosted by a birdie-birdie start, got to within two strokes of the lead before tumbling backwards over the closing stretch on the way to a 76 and a tie for 22nd at three over.

A relieved and disbelieving Singh told reporters said it was a tough game and hard work with such strong competition. Singh earned the winner's purse of $990,000 and said " It feels great now to win the Arnold Palmer with such a great field, I think it could have been an even tighter finish"

Singh had made shaky progress when he bogeyed the par-four third after being bunkered off the tee and also with his second shot.

However, with a spurt of concentration and a methodical approach he rallied with birdies at the fifth and sixth before moving up with an excellent approach to five feet at the par-four eighth.

Three strokes clear with nine holes to play, he made fumbled with a three -putt bogey, this was compounded by a bad par-five 12th after pulling his second shot into trees, but recovered well with a hole down the birdie putt from 20 feet. Finding his feet Singh drove a superb dogleg right at the par-four 15th next a measured approach behind the pin spun back off the slop to within two feet of the flag. Still under pressure from Mediate, Singh kept his composure and tapped in for his sixth birdie of the day to get to 10-under and stretch his lead to four strokes and thus winning the tournament.

Vijay Singh was ranked number one in the Official World Golf Rankings for 32 weeks in 2004 and 2005, A Fijian of Indian ancestry, he was born in the town of Lautoka, Fiji Islands and was taught golf by his father an airplane mechanic. After becoming something of a child prodigy Singh became a proffessional golfer in 1982 . In 1984, Singh won the Malaysian PGA Championship. Italy and finished 24th on the European Tour Order of Merit, putting his early stuggles firmly behind him. He won on the European Tour again in 1990 and did so twice in 1992. He also won several tournaments in Asia and Africa in this period and became a ranked world class player winning tournamante consistently through the 1990's'. Currently, Vijay is the only double winner in 2007 PGA Tour having won the season opener Mercedez Benz Championship and as well as the Arnold Palmer Golf Championship. Singh lost his world number 1 ranking to Tiger Woods , but just two weeks later he took it back again after notching up top three finishes in three consecutive weeks. Followings Woods' win at the 2005 Masters, Singh once again lost his place as World No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings and finished tied for fifth place. Despite this Singh became the youngest living person elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame and remains one of Golfs biggest purse earners.