With one last four footer on the eighteenth, Vijay Singh (-10) saved par and hung on to win his first World Golf Championship and his 32nd overall win on the PGA Tour defeating Stuart Appleby (-9) and Lee Westwood(-9) by one stroke. Fan favorite Phil Mickelson(-8), who came into the last round tied for the lead, bogeyed three out of the last four holes and ended up tied for fourth along with South African Retief Goosen(-8).
It wasn't easy for Singh. And I am sure he would tell you it could have been a lot less dramatic had he made his four to eight foot putts down the stretch. Heading into yesterdays final round, the native Fijian ranked 78th out of 80 in putting from that delicate four to eight foot range. Now that is terrible especially for a guy of Vijay's caliber, but it also is a sign of how well he is striking the ball. For a guy to win the tournament as Singh did, he must have been giving himself several birdie chances.
This is now Singh's 20th victory since turning forty and that is the most of anyone in the history of the tour after hitting that mark. This win should give Singh a lot of confidence heading into to this week's final major of the year: The PGA Championship held at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. And with a field without Tiger Woods, Vijay is definitely a favorite to win, along with Mickelson and Westwood, who continues playing well at tough courses.
In the other PGA Tour event, the one where all the good players weren't playing, Parker McLachlin ran away from the field with an impressive eighteen under par score to win the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open. Even though the young stud shot 74 yesterday, his scorching 62 on Friday, tying the course record, propelled him into the lead and he never looked back. Coming into the final round with a six stroke lead, him winning was a mere formality unless he had Greg Normanlike problems.
Also yesterday was the Senior US Open, one of the five majors on the Champions tour. Argentina's Eduardo Romero took it down fairly easily winning by four strokes over Fred Funk. Romero, six under for tournament, was only one of three players under par along with Funk (-2) and Mark McNulty (-1). Greg Norman finished at even and in fourth place.
You know the Shark is playing some pretty good golf lately for a 53 year old guy. He has now been on a run that has seen him finish fourth at the British Open, fifth at the Senior British Open, and now fourth at the US Senior Open.
Stay tuned in to DC for a preview of the PGA Championship.
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