Singh aims to recapture winning ways

HOUSTON – Vijay Singh might have found the perfect remedy for his three-month dry spell.

A winner twice in the past three years at the Houston Open, Singh is counting on a return here to snap out of a victory drought that dropped him from No. 1 in the world.

“I’m waiting for another kick start,” Singh said Wednesday, the same day he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. “Maybe this is a place to get me going again.”

A year ago, Singh came to this tournament in much the same position. He had won only one event, Pebble Beach, and was mired in a dry spell that gave little hint of the dazzling year to come.

Then he won in Houston by two shots over Scott Hoch, won in New Orleans a week later and finished the season with nine wins, shattering the tour record for earnings with nearly $11 million and replacing Tiger Woods at No. 1.

The season has started off much the same for Singh in 2005.

After a birdie on the 18th hole to win the Sony Open in January, Singh missed the cut at Pebble Beach, was knocked out in the second round at the Match Play Championship and never made much of a run at the Masters. He has come close on occasion, finishing runner-up two straight weeks in Florida.

But he arrived at Redstone Golf Club behind only Phil Mickelson and Woods on the money list and confident he could come up with a repeat performance. After all, he has finished in the top five in four of his last five tournaments.