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| April 2, 2002 | Tuesday | Muharram 18,1423 |
Singh lifts crown by six strokes
HOUSTON (Texas), April 1: Vijay Singh fired a closing four-under-par 68 Sunday to win the Houston Open by six shots and taste victory on the US PGA Tour for the first time in almost two years.
The 39-year-old Fijian also set a tournament scoring record of 22-under-par 266 at the 7,018-yard TPC at The Woodlands course as he raced clear of Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke, who finished as runner-up after returning a 71 for 272.
Singh’s win was his 10th on the tour, but his first since the 2000 Masters, and his margin of victory matched the biggest in Houston Open history, equalling Jack Burke’s margin over Frank Stranahan in 1952.
Spain’s Jose Maria Olazabal shot a two-under 70 to take third place on 273, 15-under. Jay Haas (69) and Japan’s Shigeki Maruyama (70) tied for fourth on 275.
Adam Scott, 21, tied for sixth position, his best finish in the United States. The young Australian finished 11-under on 277 along with Tom Pernice Jr, Justin Leonard and Brandt Jobe.
Singh began Sunday’s final round with a three-shot lead over Clarke and immediately set the tone for the day with a birdie at the 520-yard, par-five first hole.
Clarke birdied the 413-yard, par-four fifth to pull within three shots, and both players birdied the par-four seventh to go out in two-under 34.
Singh reached the 533-yard, par-five 13th in two and birdied the hole to return four shots clear. He then birdied the 521-yard, par-five 15th to push his lead to five strokes before Clarke bogeyed the par-four 17th.
“I wanted to get into contention before the Masters, and couldn’t find a better way to do it than to win a golf tournament,” said Singh, whose previous best finish this season was a tie for fifth at the Genuity Championship.
“You can’t find a better time for it to come than two weeks before the Masters. It’s a wonderful feeling.
From 1997 to 2000 Singh won at least one tournament a year on the US PGA Tour. His triumph at the Masters was his second major (he also won the 1998 PGA Championship).
The tall Fijian continued to put himself in contention after his Masters victory, but could not break through. He totalled five more top-10 finishes in 2000, including three third-place finishes.
Despite winning twice worldwide in 2001, Singh went without a victory in the US last year.
“I think last year, toward the end of last year, I was getting a little bit too agitated about it and wanted to win too bad. So, it kind of affected my golf game.
“This year my plan was just to come out here and play golf that I know and not worry about winning. If I get into contention, just keep doing what I’ve been doing. And that’s what my plan was today and I went out there and played really solid.”
The previous tournament scoring record relative to par was 18-under-par, held by Curtis Strange, Lee Trevino and Greg Norman.
Singh’s 22-under-par total was also the lowest score in a 72-hole US PGA Tour event this year.
For Clarke, his second-place finish was his best in the United States since winning the World Match Play in 2000. He has also played well in the past at Augusta, his best finish being a tie for eighth in 1998.
Olazabal, who won the Masters in 1994 and 1999, is also getting his game into shape for Augusta.
The Spaniard’s third-place finish was his sixth top-10 finish in eight US PGA Tour starts this year and his $272,000 pay cheque moved him up to No. 2 on the money list.
Leading final round scores (US unless stated):
266 — Vijay Singh (Fiji) 67, 65, 66, 68.
272 — Darren Clarke (Northern Ireland) 69, 65, 67, 71.
273 — Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain) 71, 68, 64, 70.
275 — Jay Haas 67, 70, 69, 69; Shigeki Maruyama (Japan) 68, 71, 66, 70.
277 — Tom Pernice Jr 71, 70, 67, 69; Justin Leonard 70, 68, 69, 70; Adam Scott (Australia) 72, 67, 67, 71; Brandt Jobe 70, 66, 69, 72.
278 — J.P. Hayes 67, 68, 71, 72; Jim Carter 65, 73, 68, 72.
279 — John Huston 70, 73, 68, 68; Fred Funk 71, 70, 67, 71.
280 — Nick Price (Zimbabwe) 68, 71, 69, 72; Scott Verplank 67, 70, 72, 71; Briny Baird 70, 71, 67, 72.
281 — Frank Nobilo (New Zealand) 70, 70, 70, 71; Tom Byrum 70, 70, 70, 71; David Toms 69, 72, 67, 73; Greg Chalmers (Australia) 69, 72, 66, 74; Fred Couples 68, 71, 68, 74; Rory Sabbatini (South Africa) 69, 71, 66, 75.—Reuters
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