Singh snaps slump

Vijay Singh raised both hands over his head when he saw his 3 1/2-foot par putt swirl into the cup for a one-shot victory, a familiar sight for someone who has won 32 times on the PGA Tour.

This was more relief than celebration at the Bridgestone Invitational at Akron, Ohio.

On the verge of throwing away a World Golf Championship, as Phil Mickelson had done ahead of him, Singh overcame some shaky putting Sunday on the back nine of Firestone by making the only one that mattered.

Three times in the last year he had at least a share of the 54-hole lead and failed to finish it off. Needing two putts from 30 feet to end an 0-for-34 drought on the PGA Tour, the last thing he wanted was the kind of putt that has given him fits.

But he trusted the countless hours of practice he spent last week on such a putt, and it paid off.

“What a relief,” Singh said. “I didn’t think I could finish it there at the end.”

With par putts on the final two holes, Singh closed with a 2-under 68 to hold off hard-charging Lee Westwood and Stuart Appleby and the fast-fading Mickelson, who lost a one-shot lead with three bogeys on his final four holes.

Singh captured his first World Golf Championship event and won for the 32nd time on the PGA Tour, putting him in the record books for most victories by an international player. He had been tied with Harry Cooper of England since winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March 2007, a victory that seemed like a lifetime ago.

As shaky as Singh looked down the stretch, Mickelson fared even worse.

With his best chance to win a WGC title – especially with six-time Firestone champion Tiger Woods on the disabled list – Mickelson played bogey-free for 14 holes and had a one-shot lead until taking bogey from the bunker on three of the last four holes, and watching yet another birdie putt from 10 feet hang on the edge. He closed with a 70 and tied for fourth with Retief Goosen (67).

Singh finished at 10-under 270 and earned $1.35 million for a victory expected to move him to No. 4 in the world.

Westwood, who could have moved up to No. 4 with his first U.S. title in 10 years, rallied from a five-shot deficit with 11 holes to play to get within one of the lead. But he missed a 7-foot birdie on the 17th, and his 15-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the 18th to tie for the lead. He closed with a 69.