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NEW ORLEANS - At the ninth hole, Vijay Singh thought he was out of the HP Classic. At the 18th, he knew the tournament was his for the taking.
Singh made a 25-foot birdie at No. 18 Monday to win the rain-delayed PGA tournament, denying Masters champion Phil Mickelson consecutive victories and Joe Ogilvie his first title.
"I had patience out there," Singh said. "Like the front nine, when nothing was happening. I was just 2 under and everybody was way ahead. So I said, "Just keep going, there is another nine to go. Just play a solid nine and see what happens.' And the putts started going in, and throwing in an eagle here and there, and all of a sudden everything changed."
Singh overcame a six-shot deficit in the final eight holes, using an eagle at No. 15 to shoot 29 on the back nine for a round of 63.
Ogilvie almost forced a playoff after Singh's putt, but his blast out of the sand trap missed by an inch.
"I shot 32 on the front side, and I felt like I was in control pretty much the whole way around," he said. "Then I saw him make an eagle on 15, then a birdie on 16. I don't know how long the putt on 18 was, but what can you say? I mean, that's why he's probably the best player in the world right now. He shot 29 on the back side."
Singh finished at 266 and became the first three-time winner on tour this season, earning $918,000 to move into first on the money list with $4,267,899.
Mickelson, in his first event since winning the Masters, and Ogilvie were a stroke back.
Singh had five birdies and an eagle on the back nine. He caught Ogilvie on the 15th, an island hole with sand traps on two sides.
Mickelson was tied for second going into the final round. Playing in the same group as Ogilvie, he made birdies at Nos. 15, 16 and 18 for a 4-under 68.
"I look in the middle part of my round, not birdieing 11, the par 5, and missing short putts on 13 and 14 took some momentum away," Mickelson said. "Although I was able to make a run near the last four holes, I really needed something there in the middle to get me up to the top of the leaderboard."
EUROPEAN PGA: Graeme McDowell won a playoff with Thomas Levet on the fourth extra hole to capture the rain-delayed Italian Open in Milan. McDowell and Levet finished at 19-under-par 197, with most players completing the third and last round after rain forced play to be suspended Sunday. The tournament was shortened from 72 to 54 holes.
U.S. OPEN: A record 8,726 have entered, ranging from 13-year-old Tommy Mou of Bradenton to 81-year-old Dick Lynch of Milwaukee. Also entered is David Duval, who has not competed in nearly six months. While he has not said when he might resume playing, Duval needed to officially enter so he would have the option of competing June 17-20 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y. Sixty-four players are exempt from qualifying, meaning 8,662 will be competing for 92 spots.