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NORTON, Sept 7: One of the most dominant runs in sport ended on Monday when Fiji's Vijay Singh replaced Tiger Woods as world number one after winning the Deutsche Bank Championship by three strokes.
Woods, the game's leading player for more than five years, had to finish higher than Singh in the PGA Tour event to retain his long established grip on the global pecking order.
However, the 28-year-old American had to settle for a tie for second place with Adam Scott at the Tournament Players Club of Boston after matching playing partner Singh's closing 69.
Woods had monopolised the world rankings for a record 264 consecutive weeks since reclaiming the top spot with his one-shot victory in the 1999 US PGA championship at Medinah.
Singh, the hottest player in the game over the last 14 months, clinched his sixth PGA Tour title of the season and 10th since the start of last year. World ranking points are accumulated over a two-year period, with points awarded in the most recent 13-week spell doubled.
LEADING FINAL ROUND SCORES:
268 - Vijay Singh (Fiji) 68, 63, 68, 69.
271 - Adam Scott (Australia) 69, 67, 70, 65; Tiger Woods (US) 65, 68, 69, 69.
274 - John Rollins (US) 67, 66, 75, 66; Daniel Chopra (Sweden) 68, 69, 70, 67.
275 - Hank Kuehne (US) 68, 68, 71, 68; Shigeki Maruyama (Japan) 68, 66, 71, 70.
276 - Jay Williamson (US) 68, 68, 70, 70.
277 - Charles Howell III (US) 67, 68, 76, 66; Brad Faxon (US) 72, 69, 68, 68; Bill Haas (US) 69, 64, 71, 73.
278 - Camilo Villegas (Colombia) 69, 68, 72, 69.
279 - David Toms (US) 69, 71, 73, 66; David Duval (US) 72, 70, 70, 67; Zach Johnson (US) 68, 72, 71, 68; Dennis Paulson (US) 69, 70, 71, 69.
280 - Richard S. Johnson (Sweden) 70, 69, 73, 68; Matt Kuchar (US) 69, 73, 70, 68; Deane Pappas (South Africa) 67, 70, 72, 71; Dan Forsman (US) 68, 72, 69, 71; Ryan Palmer (US) 65, 69, 74, 72.
LEADING WORLD RANKINGS (PREVIOUS RANKING IN BRACKETS): 1. (2) Vijay Singh (Fiji) 12.72 points average; 2. (1) Tiger Woods (US) 12.27; 3. (3) Ernie Els (South Africa) 10.99; 4. (4) Phil Mickelson (US) 8.84; 5. (5) Davis Love III (US) 7.56; 6. (6) Retief Goosen (South Africa) 7.54; 7. (7) Mike Weir (Canada) 6.34; 8. (8) Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 5.47; 9. (12) Adam Scott (Australia) 5.10; 10. (9) Jim Furyk (US) 5.06; 11. (11) Sergio Garcia (Spain) 4.87; 12. (10) Stewart Cink (US) 4.82; 13. (13) Stuart Appleby (Australia) 4.56; 14. (14) Kenny Perry (US) 4.48; 15. (16) Chad Campbell (US) 4.45; 16. (15) Darren Clarke (Britain) 4.43; 17. (17) Chris DiMarco (US) 4.34; 18. (18) Todd Hamilton (US) 4.17; 19. (19) Stephen Ames (Canada) 4.07; 20. (20) Scott Verplank (US) 4.02. -Reuters
