Singh it out loud
Vijay Singh was so good in the middle that it didn’t matter how bad it got in the end.
All he cared about was winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which has caused him so much grief over the years. Singh got it done Sunday with a terrific run of birdies to build a commanding lead, closing with a 3-under 67 for a two-shot victory over Rocco Mediate (67) in Orlando, Fla.
Three times a runner-up at Bay Hill, the 44-year-old Fijian became the first multiple winner on the PGA Tour this year, and his 31st career victory tied him with Harry “Lighthorse” Cooper for most by foreign-born players.
Singh ran off four birdies in a five-hole stretch to close out the front nine and stretched his lead to four shots with a sand wedge that spun back with the slope to 2 feet on the 15th. That gave him plenty of room for error, and Singh’s bogey-bogey-par finish only affected the margin of victory.
“I love this place,” Singh said. “I hate the 18th hole, but I love the rest of it. It feels great. Having won Jack’s tournament (Memorial) and now Arnie’s, it’s a great one to get.”
Singh finished at 8-under 272 and moved atop the money list with $2.6 million.
Vaughn Taylor birdied the final hole for a 73 to finish alone in third, but he needed second place alone to move into the top 50 in the world.
Tiger Woods hit his tee shot into the water on the par-3 17th and made double bogey. After chipping out of the rough on the 18th, he hit his third into the water and made triple bogey. That gave him a 43 on the back nine for a 6-over 76, his highest score in a regular PGA Tour event since a 76 in the third round of the Memorial four years ago.
He tied for 22nd, ending his streak of 13 straight top 10s worldwide, nine of those on the PGA Tour.
Sergio Garcia also tried to make a run and got within two shots with a 15-foot birdie on the 13th. But he bogeyed the next two holes, missing a 4-foot par putt on the 15th, and finishing his round of 71 by missing another 4-footer on the 18th. He tied for fifth with John Rollins (71) and Tom Lehman (72).
Champions Tour
Tom Purtzer won the Champions Tour’s AT&T Champions Classic for the second time in five seasons, beating Loren Roberts with a 17-foot birdie on the fourth hole of a playoff in Santa Clarita, Calif.
Purtzer closed with a 4-under 68 to match Roberts (69) at 10-under 206 on the Valencia Country Club course. The 55-year-old Purtzer earned $240,000 for his fourth career victory on the 50-and-over tour.
Hale Irwin, the leader the first two days, closed with a 73 to drop into a fourth-place tie with Tom Jenkins (68), Joe Ozaki (67), Des Smyth (68), Jim Thorpe (71) and Andy Bean (72) at 8 under.
“I played 27 good holes and 27 not so good,” the 61-year-old Irwin said. “I just didn’t do what I needed to do. I played very poorly.”
TCL Classic
Chapchai Nirat of Thailand shot a 1-under 71 to win the TCL Classic in Sanya, China and claim his first victory in a major tournament.
The 23-year-old led from the start and finished with a 22-under 266 at the Yalong Bay Golf Club on Hainan Island. Rafael Echenique of Argentina finished three strokes back after a 68. Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand was two more shots behind after a 67.
Nirat opened with a course-record 61 and had a five-stroke lead heading into the final round of the event sanctioned by the European and Asian tours.