TORONTO, March 21: Kenny Perry held on to win his first title in two years at the Bay Hill Invitational on Sunday with a two-stroke victory over Britain’s Graeme McDowell and Vijay Singh, who found the water on the final hole to gift the American the title.
It was the second successive week Singh has finished runner-up though it ensured the Fijian leaves Orlando’s Bay Hill Resort with the number one world ranking.
Trailing by three shots with four to play, Singh mounted a late charge with birdies on 15 and 16 then watched as Perry made bogey on the 17th to leave them level with one to play.
But with Perry nervously grinding his teeth, Singh hit his approach short, the ball plopping into the water for a double-bogey leaving his relieved opponent an easy putt for a final round two-under 70 and his eighth career victory with a winning total of 12-under 276.
Singh had played flawless golf throughout the afternoon until his six on 18 and finished with a three-under 69.
It was another disappointing finish for the Fijian, who missed a three-foot putt on the second hole of a sudden death playoff with Padraig Harrington at the Honda Classic last week.
Even ending Woods brief reign for a second time and reclaiming the number one ranking was of small consolation for Singh without the win.
Woods had been in contention for his fifth title at Bay Hill, sitting just three shots off the lead after two rounds.
The eight-time major winner started Sunday by completing his delayed third round with two-over 74 and continued his slide down the leaderboard with four bogeys on the front nine of his final round.
He finished with three birdies on the back nine for an even par 72 but could not keep Singh from reclaiming the top ranking.
World number three Ernie Els, who arrived in Orlando with back-to-back titles at the Dubai Desert Classic and Qatar Masters, slumped out of contention with a five-over 77 finishing 11 shots behind Perry at one-under 287.
McDowell shot the round of the tournament, a six-under 66, on Sunday to move from seventh to joint second, which secured a place in the top 50 of the world rankings and a spot in next week’s Player Championships.
