GOLF Singh keeps his focus, has 10th win in sights

The world's No. 1 player is two strokes back in the Tour Championship.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA -- The leaves have transformed into a sparkling array of colors. There's a bit of a chill in the air. The golf season is coming to a close.
Vijay Singh just loves this time of year.
While his rivals already are looking ahead to the off-season, the world's No. 1 player refuses to let up. He's still playing just like it's the middle of summer.
"For a lot of guys out here, after the PGA [Championship], they kind of slow down," Singh said Thursday, standing just off the 18th green after the opening round of the Tour Championship. "My focus does not get any less after the PGA. If anything, it gets stronger."
That's hardly encouraging news to the rest of the elite field at the season-ending Tour Championship, all given the task of denying Singh his 10th win of the year.
As usual, the Fijian is right in the thick of things, shooting a 1-under 69 on a soggy, blustery first day at East Lake Golf Club.
In contention
Despite going 15 holes without a birdie, Singh recovered from enough missed shots to finish the round just two strokes behind Darren Clarke, Jerry Kelly and 50-year-old Jay Haas -- all seeking their first win of the year.
"It was a day where you just have to manage yourself, get around, not get too far from the lead," Singh said. "I'm right in there, and there's three days to go."
At the first hole, Singh fired his approach into 2 feet for a tap-in birdie. He took bogey on the fourth hole from a fairway bunker and would have been happy with an even-par round.
But Singh rolled in a 25-footer for birdie on the 17th, and suddenly his name was where it has been all year -- near the top of the leaderboard.
Shaking off rust
Tiger Woods hasn't done much playing since he got married in early October. Returning from a monthlong honeymoon, he still had trouble hitting a fairway, struggling to a 72.
"A little rusty, no doubt about that," Woods said, assessing the state of his game. "Not physical rust. I just made some mental mistakes where I needed to place the ball."
Woods played alongside Ernie Els, who broke his putter while slamming an 8-iron into his bag and finished the round putting with his sand wedge. He also had a 72.
"I wasn't making putts. I figured I might as well use the sand wedge," Els said, smiling. "That didn't work, either."
The 67 was the highest score to lead the Tour Championship in the four years it has been held at East Lake. Only 13 players among the top 31 on the money list managed to break par in the season-ending event.
David Toms and Zach Johnson were one stroke back at 68, while the Singh-led group at 69 also included John Daly, Mike Weir and Padraig Harrington.
LPGA Tour
OTSU, Japan -- Annika Sorenstam started her quest for a fourth consecutive Mizuno Classic title with an eagle today and held a share of the lead after the first round.
The top-ranked Swede carded a 63 and was tied with Japan's Chihiro Nakajima at 9-under at the $1 million LPGA Tour event.
The pair was three strokes ahead of Rachel Teske and Aree Song at 66.