PGA Singh surges to lead; Woods falls six back
Vijay Singh could pass Tiger on the money list.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) -- Vijay Singh thinks about winning the PGA Tour money title just about every minute that he's not on the golf course.
When he walked off the 18th green Saturday afternoon in the Funai Classic at Disney, the goal never seemed more within his reach.
Singh was in a four-way tie for the lead.
Tiger Woods, whom he trails by $171,239, was nowhere to be found.
"You can't ask for a better position," said Singh, whose 3-under 69 left him tied for the lead with Scott Verplank, Stewart Cink and John Rollins at 18-under 198.
"I'm leading going into the last day, but it's going to be a battle tomorrow," he said. "I just have to keep my head down and keep playing."
Woods stumbled on the back nine with three bogeys in four holes and shot 71, leaving him six shots behind in a tie for 14th.
Adding to Singh's advantage is that he plans to play next week in the $4.8 million Chrysler Championship in Tampa; Woods is taking that week off. If everything goes well for Singh, he could clinch the money title before the season-ending Tour Championship.
"I'm not thinking about the money title when I'm out there," Singh said. "I just go out and play. When I go to sleep at night, it's in the back of my mind. When I wake up, it's there. It's a goal for me to do it."
Not looking ahead
The first step is to win for the fourth time of the year, and there's plenty of work left.
Adding to the drama across the street from the Magic Kingdom is that everyone atop the leaderboard has something riding on the final round.
Cink, who had a 6-under 66, is No. 41 on the money list and is trying to get into the top 30 for the Tour Championship, at worst the top 40 to make it back to the Masters.
He thought he was doomed when his tee shot came up about 8 inches short of clearing the lake on the 17th. Cink took a big risk by splashing it out of the muck, but he got it onto dry land and walked off with a bogey.
"I was thinking that I'm coming back to the tee, I'm making 6," Cink said.
He finished with a 40-foot birdie putt and a share of the lead.
In contention
Verplank, winless since the 2001 Canadian Open, is 27th on the money list and was hopeful of earning enough money at Disney to clinch a spot in the Tour Championship and skip next week's tournament in Tampa.
The former NCAA champion from Oklahoma State desperately wants to be in Norman, Okla., next Saturday to watch his Cowboys play the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners.
"My No. 1 focus is to win the tournament," said Verplank, who had three straight birdies to start the back nine and shot 66. "The other stuff will take care of itself."
Rollins (67) is 43rd on the list, in the same position as Cink.
David Peoples had a 69 and was at 16-under 200.