Friday, September 24, 2004
His 8-under 64 was three shots better than anybody else.
FARMINGTON, Pa. (AP) -- Tiger Woods pulled out of the 84 Lumber Classic earlier this week, citing fatigue. Maybe like everyone else on the PGA Tour, he is weary of seeing Vijay Singh in the lead.
Different tournament, different course, same old song -- or, make that, the same old Singh.
Singh, the winner of four of his last five tournaments, said he was nearly perfect during an 8-under 64 Thursday that left him three shots up on the field.
It was difficult to argue.
Singh had an eagle and six birdies in a bogey-free round that was his 53rd of the year in the 60s, 11 more than the absent Phil Mickelson. It also was his fourth round of 65 or lower in five tournaments, beginning with his victory last month in the PGA Championship.
The way Singh is playing, it seems as if everyone else is going for second place, just as it was with Woods a couple of years ago. No wonder Singh not only leads the PGA Tour money list. He recently ended Woods' five years-plus reign atop the world rankings.
Until Woods pulled out, it looked as if Singh and Woods might duel for No. 1 this weekend at the opulent Nemacolin Woodlands resort, where a $60 million-plus clubhouse and resort hotel were built in less than a year at the suggestion of some of last year's players.
"He sure looks like he [Singh] is on a roll like Tiger was a few years back," said Billy Andrade, who shot a 3-under 69. "I think if you polled all the players and say would anybody get to the level that Tiger Woods was back at a couple of years ago, probably everybody would have said, 'How can you get better than this?' And now Vijay seems to be on a run like that."
Since last month, Singh has won the Buick Open, the PGA, the Deutsche Bank Championship and the Canadian Open, failing to win only when he tied for 32nd at the NEC Invitational. He has seven victories this year, two short of Woods' career-best nine in 2000 -- the same year Woods set the single-season money record of $9.1 million that Singh can break this weekend.
"I'm driving the ball the way I want it," Singh said. "I don't know if I can hit it any better. My playing is pretty good. I'm doing the same thing over and over again."
Nobody else was arguing.
"I would assume the hole looks like a basketball hole right now for him," Andrade said. "And you get on rolls like that -- some bigger than others for people."
Worked on swing
The 41-year-old Singh took last weekend off but still worked on his swing, as if it needed any improvement.
"I do the same thing over and over again with my golf swing," Singh said. "If I'm at home, I do a lot of work with a mirror. I work a lot with the mirror, swinging clubs. I think now my swing is into a plane where if I just keep doing what I'm doing, it should stay the same. The more I do, the better it gets."
Even if it might seem it couldn't possibly get better.
"I'm swinging the club as good as I think I can," he said.