It’s Singh in the Rain

REDMOND, Wash. — The PGA Championship welcomed Vijay Singh into the fold on a drippy Sunday at Sahalee Country Club, where the 35-year-old son of a Fijian airline technician propelled himself to his first major title.

A former club pro in Borneo who has won tournaments in such venues as Malaysia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Morocco, Singh cut a wide swath though the tree-lined course and beat Steve Stricker by two shots.

Singh produced a two-under 68 to finish with a nine-under total of 271, accepted the winner’s check of $540,000 and continued the PGA’s tradition of serving as the coming-out party for first-time major winners.

He is the 10th player in the last 11 years to make the PGA his first major title and the seventh in the last 11 years whose only major title is the PGA.

“It’s amazing,” Singh said. “I can’t believe that I’ve won this tournament.”

After sharing the 54-hole lead with Singh, Stricker closed with a 70, but he bogeyed two of the par-three holes Sunday, including the not-so-dangerous 215-yard 17th when he was just one shot back.

Stricker, who drove into the water at the par-three No. 9, wound up playing the par-three holes in three over for the week.

“You’re not going to win many golf tournaments doing that,” Stricker said.

The turning point for both players was at the 17th. Stricker was one shot back and wanted to try to put some pressure on Singh, but he drove into the left bunker trying to stay away from the water on the right, which is where his ball landed on Friday when he double-bogeyed the hole.

This time, Singh joined Stricker in the same bunker, but managed to save his par.

Stricker didn’t. He knocked his bunker shot to 12 feet, but missed the putt.

It was not an easy day for Stricker, who said he was having problems handling the pressure and wound up fighting his swing.

“I’m not going to lie,” he said. “It was difficult. . . . it’s hard not to let things creep into your mind. They did.”

As the year’s fourth and final major ground to its conclusion, the line of players who stepped up to challenge Singh and Stricker was not a very long one. Steve Elkington answered with a closing 67, but he bogeyed the 18th and wound up third at six-under 274, three shots behind Singh.

Nick Price shot a 65, but he began the day eight shots back and found that there was just too much ground to make up. Price finished tied for fourth with Mark O’Meara, and Frank Lickliter.

Actually, O’Meara did make it interesting for awhile. He eagled the second hole and birdied the fifth to get within two shots of the leaders, then bogeyed the next three holes to drop out of it just as quickly as he had climbed in.

“I’m a little disappointed, but that’s the way it goes,” O’Meara said.

The Masters and British Open champion had a chance to join Ben Hogan as the only players to win three majors in one year.

“It would have been a tremendous honor to go alongside Ben Hogan’s name, but it just wasn’t meant to be,” O’Meara said. “It’s not easy winning out here, let alone another major championship.”

Maybe, but Singh did with a relative ease that seemed surprising given his inexperience in such matters. It didn’t hurt that he had a little luck on his side.

For instance, on his approach shot at No. 11, the hole with the two trees down the fairway that look like goal posts, he threaded his ball through the trees with a three wood, reached the front of the green and two-putted from 25 feet for a birdie that increased his lead to two shots.

Singh bogeyed No. 12 from the bunker, but pulled off another shot involving trees at No. 14. He hooked his ball 50 yards around some trees and onto the green, where he saved his par. When he rolled in an eight-footer for birdie on No. 15, Singh was on his way.

If Stricker was having trouble keeping his emotions in check, Singh wasn’t. He said caddie Dave Renwick, who worked with Elkington when he won the 1995 PGA and Jose Maria Olazabal when he won the 1994 Masters, helped calm him.

Singh was loose even when he was tight. Stricker said Singh admitted that his hands were sweating so much he could barely hold the club.

But Singh wasn’t quite so relaxed trying to sleep Saturday night when he woke up at 2 a.m., worrying about what would happen in the final round.

“My wife [Ardena] said ‘Aren’t you sleeping?’ and I said ‘Yeah, I’m asleep.’

“Winning, this is just something I never expected to happen. I’m at a loss for words trying to figure out how I did that today. It’s a dream come true. It’s been my dream, even though I’ve been quiet about it.”

It was Singh’s sixth PGA Tour victory, but his 24th in international competition--including seven on the European PGA Tour--in a career that began in 1982.

Elkington said he appreciates Singh’s accomplishment.

“He has had an enormously difficult road to pick up that trophy,” Elkington said.

Now that Singh is a major champion, maybe he will feel comfortable enough to cut back on the time he spends practicing on the range, to curtail his putting in his hotel room, to stop changing his putter or his style.

Or maybe not. This year alone, Singh has gone through eight putters and even felt uncomfortable enough to switch to a cross-handed style in June.

Yes, now that he’s a major champion, maybe the notoriously closed-mouthed Singh will open up and allow himself more reactions like the one he had late Sunday afternoon at the end of his long road at Sahalee.

What was it?

“A sigh of relief,” he said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

1998 MAJORS TRIUMPHS

MASTERS: Mark O’Meara

Score: 279 (-9)

Won by: 1 shot

Money: $576,000

*

U.S. OPEN: Lee Janzen

Score: 280 (E)

Won by: 1 shot

Money: $535,000

*

BRITISH OPEN: Mark O’Meara

Score: 280 (E)

Won by: Playoff

Money: $493,500

*

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP: Vijay Singh

Score: 271 (-9)

Won by: 2 shots

Money: $540,000

FINAL SCORES

Top 72-hole scores in the PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club (par 70) in Redmond, Wash. (Complete scores, C8):

271 (-9)--$540,000

Vijay Singh: 70-66-67-68

273 (-7)--$324,000

Steve Stricker: 69-68-66-70

274 (-6)--$204,000

Steve Elkington: 69-69-69-67

276 (-4)--$118,000

Mark O’Meara: 69-70-69-68

Frank Lickliter: 68-71-69-68

Nick Price: 70-73-68-65

277 (-3)--$89,500

Billy Mayfair: 73-67-67-70

Davis Love III: 70-68-69-70

Major Competition

How the 1998 majors winners -- Mark O’Meara (Masters, British Open), Lee Janzen (U.S. Open), and Vijay Singh (PGA Championship) -- fared in this year’s other majors:

* Masters : Singh missed cut; Janzen tied for 33rd (294, +6, $18,112)

* U.S. Open: O’Meara tied for 32nd (293, +13, $18,372); Singh tied for 25th (292, +12, $25,640)

* British Open: Singh tied for 19th (290, +10, $28,326); Janzen tied for 24th (291, +11, $20,529)

* PGA: O’Meara tied for fifth (276, -4, $118,000); Janzen missed cut

CHAMPIONS

1916--James M. Barnes

1917-18--No championship played, WWI

1919--James M. Barnes

1920--Jock Hutchison

1921--Walter Hagen

1922--Gene Sarazen

1923--Gene Sarazen

1924--Walter Hagen

1925--Walter Hagen

1926--Walter Hagen

1927--Walter Hagen

1928--Leo Diegel

1929--Leo Diegel

1930--Tommy Armour

1931--Tom Creavy

1932--Olin Dutra

1933--Gene Sarazen

1934--Paul Runyan

1935--Johnny Revolta

1936--Denny Shute

1937--Denny Shute

1938--Paul Runyan

1939--Henry Picard

1940--Byron Nelson

1941--Vic Ghezzi

1942--Sam Snead

1943--No championship played, WWII

1944--Bob Hamilton

1945--Byron Nelson

1946--Ben Hogan

1947--Jim Ferrier

1948--Ben Hogan

1949--Sam Snead

1950--Chandler Harper

1951--Sam Snead

1952--Jim Turnesa

1953--Walter Burkemo

1954--Chick Harbert

1955--Doug Ford

1956--Jack Burke

1957--Lionel Hebert

1958--Dow Finsterwald

1959--Bob Rosburg

1960--Jay Hebert

1961--Jerry Barber

1962--Gary Player

1963--Jack Nicklaus

1964--Bobby Nichols

1965--Dave Marr

1966--Al Geiberger

1967--Don January

1968--Julius Boros

1969--Ray Floyd

1970--Dave Stockton

1971--Jack Nicklaus

1972--Gary Player

1973--Jack Nicklaus

1974--Lee Trevino

1975--Jack Nicklaus

1976--Dave Stockton

1977--Lanny Wadkins

1978--John Mahaffey

1979--David Graham

1980--Jack Nicklaus

1981--Larry Nelson

1982--Raymond Floyd

1983--Hal Sutton

1984--Lee Trevino

1985--Hubert Green

1986--Bob Tway

1987--Larry Nelson

1988--Jeff Sluman

1989--Payne Stewart

1990--Wayne Grady

1991--John Daly

1992--Nick Price

1993--Paul Azinger

1994--Nick Price

1995--Steve Elkington

1996--Mark Brooks

1997--Davis Love III

1998--Vijay Singh