Singh snares 17th title



His 68 resulted in a two-stroke victory over Scott Hoch in the Houston Open.
HUMBLE, Texas (AP) -- Vijay Singh liked his chances of holding on for a second Houston Open title.
"You give me a two-shot lead with two holes to go, I think I can handle it," Singh said.
The 41-year-old Fijian won his 17th tour title and second of the year Monday, closing with a bogey-free 4-under 68 for a two-stroke victory over Scott Hoch in the rain-delayed tournament.
Singh played bogey-free golf in the final two rounds -- stretched over three days and extended to Monday because of bad weather that interrupted play at Redstone Golf Club.
"I played really well, regardless of how bad the weather was," said Singh, second in the world rankings. "I didn't make a mistake coming down the stretch."
On a streak
Singh, who shared the third-round lead with John Huston, has won the last six times he's topped the 54-hole leader-board.
"I've been striking the ball well, so when you do that you don't feel threatened that someone else is going to overtake you," Singh said.
Singh finished at 11-under 277, and earned $900,000. He also won the 2002 tournament at the TPC at The Woodlands.
The 48-year-old Hoch shot a 69.
"When he's playing well and he's not hitting errant tee balls or errant shots, it's going to be doubly tough to beat him, and I couldn't beat him," Hoch said. "I did as good as I could do, and I'm pleased with how I finished. I couldn't have done any better."
John Daly got close, then faded with a 71 to wind up six shots back at 5-under.
Huston, with a 71 Monday, never could get anything going, although his third-place finish, at 8-under, was easily his best of the year. Stephen Ames (69) and Dudley Hart (70) tied for fourth at 6-under.
Got an eagle
Singh opened the event with a 74, but his second-round 66 equaled the low round of the tournament. He completed his third round earlier Monday, making an 88-foot chip for eagle at the 12th en route to a 69 and a share of the lead at 7-under.
Singh birdied two of the first three holes in the final round, rolling in a 20-foot putt at the par-5 first.
At the 209-yard par-3 third, his tee shot stopped 21/2 feet from the pin. His putt for birdie gave him the lead outright at 9-under.
Singh then had seven consecutive pars before a birdie at the par-4 11th, where he putted from less than 10 feet. As Hoch closed in, Singh coolly added a 10-foot birdie putt at No. 15.
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