Golf

Singh quietly emerges with the win

HONOLULU - Vijay Singh heard a massive roar coming from the 18th hole, and a glance at the leaderboard confirmed what he suspected: Ernie Els eagled to tie for the lead in the Sony Open.

Singh had six holes left to make no mistakes and one birdie. He kept Els and everyone else in suspense until the end.

Capping a strong final round, Singh hammered a 300-yard drive on the par-5 18th to set up a routine birdie from the edge of the green, giving him 5-under 65 Sunday.

"The 18th hole owed me," said Singh, who had not birdied there all week. "I hit a great drive, and that set me up. It's a tough driving hole for me. I could take another bucket of balls and not be able to hit that shot."

Singh finished 11-under 269 for a one-shot victory over Els, who was trying for an unprecedented third straight title at Waialae Country Club.

Seemingly out of contention, the Big Easy holed a 10-foot birdie on the 16th, stuffed a 6-iron into 3 feet on the 17th, then reached the 551-yard 18th hole with a 3-iron and made an 18-footer to tie the course record with 62.

"I always felt it was going to be just a little shy," Els said. "But I still had a great day."

Singh did not celebrate until Shigeki Maruyama failed to eagle the final hole. The Japanese star closed with 1-over 71 to tie Charles Howell (67) for third.

It was the earliest Singh has won on the PGA Tour, and it came at a good time.

Expectations were higher than ever coming off a nine-win season that vaulted him to No.1 in the world. And he was feeling the pressure from the opening week, when he snap-hooked a tee shot on the 13th hole in the final round for triple bogey, ultimately costing him a chance to win the Mercedes Championships.

"This takes a lot of pressure off me," he said. "If I had not won one, like I let one go (a week ago), I would be tensing up as the weeks go by. But this is a load off my back. I can go relax and play. I think it's going to be a great year."

Singh played bogey-free on another windy day at Waialae. He got into the lead with a two-putt birdie on No.9, then a deft bunker shot around a coconut tree to 18 feet for birdie on No.10, and a bold 7-iron to 10 feet right of the flag on the 11th. But the key was the 14th, when Singh ran a 60-foot birdie putt about 8 feet by the hole. He made that one to stay tied with Els, biding time until he got to the 18th, where he two-putted from the fringe.

Singh won for the 25th time in his career and picked up his 20th different PGA Tour trophy. Tiger Woods has won at 21 various tournaments with 40 career victories.

Singh was a forgotten figure until he had a lei around his neck and the trophy in his hand.

First came 15-year-old Michelle Wie, who was the talk of the tournament for two days until she missed the cut after rounds of 74-75. Then came Maruyama, a popular figure with many Japanese fans in Hawaii giving him the royal treatment when he took a one-shot lead into the final round.

In the end, it was a familiar figure at the top. It was the second straight week the winner came from four shots behind. Stuart Appleby closed with 67 to win the Mercedes Championships.

Maruyama had a one-shot lead until he missed the fairway on No.12 for bogey, then went long on the 14th and made a 10-foot bogey putt to limit the damage.

Brett Quigley, trying to win for the first time in 221 starts on tour, also bogeyed the 14th and lost his last shred of hope by missing a 4-foot par putt on the 17th. He shot 71 to tie for fifth with Stewart Cink (65) at 272.

Maruyama faced pressure from trying to protect a tenuous lead, and from the large Japanese gallery that hung on his every shot, even the tap-ins. The crowd was so large that a marshal asked those next to the rope around the second green to sit down so the throng coming up the fairway could see.

But the cheers turned to moans when Maruyama missed a 6-foot birdie on the fourth, then a 3-foot par putt on the sixth to fall back into a share of the lead.

It wasn't long before it got crowded at the top. At one point, four players were tied for the lead at 10 under.

But as the round headed to a conclusion, only one man kept hitting every fairway and giving himself a birdie chance on every hole. It was Singh, the same guy collecting all the trophies last year.

"He's at the top of his game," Els said. "You can't think of him faltering."

[Last modified January 17, 2005, 01:06:09]