Category: PGA

Vijay Singh withdrew from the American Express Championship to be played in Ireland this weekend after Hurricane Jeanne, the 4th hurricane to pound the state of Florida in the past two months, caused damage to his home in Ponte Vedra Beach. Singh felt it was time to spend some time with his family. He is still scheduled to play three more tournaments this year including next week’s Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland, a European tour event. Other notables who have already withdrawn from the American Express Championship include Mike Weir, John Daly, Phil Mickelson, Kenny Perry, and Nick Price. The tournament will still include 44 of the world’s top-50 players.

Vijay Singh has won his third tournament in a row, furthering his grip on the #1 Golfer in the World title and leaving Tiger Woods’ single-season earning record in the dust. Singh weathered a charge from Stewart Cink at the 84 Lumber Classic in Farmington, PA to take his eighth PGA Tour title in 2004. Singh’s 3-under 69 gave him a one-stroke victory just five days after signing an endorsement deal with 84 Lumber.

Woods’ best hope for reclaiming the top spot in the world rankings may be convincing Vijay to sign with Callaway. 🙂

Citing exhaustion, Tiger Woods has pulled out of the second 84 Lumber Classic (of Pennsylvania). Says The Golf Channel:

Upon the announcement that Woods would be playing in this week’s 84 Lumber Classic, the second-tier tournament instantly became one of the top attractions on the late-season schedule – and an instant sell-out.

Joe Hardy – the man John Daly calls “dad” – must have drunk too much wood grain alcohol before saying “We’re certainly moving this up to a higher level. I can’t say we’ll be one of the majors, but we’ll certainly give them a run for their money.” It’s no wonder he gets along with JD so well. <grin>

In addition to the American Express Championship and the Tour Championship, six full-field events remain on the 2004 PGA Tour schedule.

I’ve been saying that for the last few years Tiger Wood’s golf game directly correlates to his love life. The minute he got himself a nice little blonde (Elin Nordegren) his golf game began to suffer. Since he started dating Elin three years ago, how many majors has he won? His game became worse once he proposed 10 months ago, barely making it to the weekend on several occasions. Needless to say, I was quite surprised at his impressive finish at the recent Deutsche Bank Championship. Now I know the reason for his good showing; reports have surfaced that he and his fiancée have called off their engagement! Now that Tiger can concentrate on his game again (instead of what china pattern to choose) will we see the return of the Champion?

In an exciting finish, Vijay Singh takes the Bell Canadian Open right out of Mike Weir‘s grasp on the third playoff hole. Leading after 54 holes by 3 strokes, Weir shot a final round 72 (+1) and Singh a 69 (-2). After a pair of birdies on the first playoff hole (#18) and an anemic pair of bogeys on the second playoff hole (#17), they went back to #18. Weir’s troubles on this hole started when he drove into the thick right rough. Chopping it out another 100 yards down the fairway, Weir then plays a slight draw with an iron, skips it off the back of the putting surface, and splashes into the water. This opened the door for Vijay who, after another beautiful drive, hit a 6I to just off the green and chipped it to within 6 feet. Vijay missed the birdie putt but left only a comeback tap-in for the par and win. All in all, Weir and Singh played sloppily (Vijay played the 11th hole in 7-over par), but Singh managed to best the Canadian in his own championship.

The win puts Vijay Singh to within about $500,000 of Tiger Woods’ single-season money earnings record. Moreover, if Vijay’s victory last week didn’t cement his bid for Player of the Year, this win – Vijay’s seventh and his fourth in his last five starts – should do it. Singh’s seven victories accompany 14 top-10, 20 top-25 finishes, and well over $8 million in winnings. There’s absolutely no chance that Tiger will steal this one away from him.

Canadian native Mike Weir leads his country’s championship by three strokes over Cliff Kresage and the world’s number-one golfer, Vijay Singh. There are eleven golfers within six strokes of Weir going into Sunday’s final round, including Jesper Parnevik (-7), Stewart Cink (-4), and Bill Haas (-4).

               Today    1   2   3   4  Total  To Par
Mike Weir      1:40ET  68  65  70   -   203     -10
Cliff Kresge   1:40ET  69  70  67   -   206     - 7
Vijay Singh    1:30ET  68  66  72   -   206     - 7

This week also marks the second consecutive week in which David Duval has made the cut, finishing at 6-over par 290 with rounds of 71, 72, 76, and 71.

Only one question remains this week about Weir’s attempt to capture his native championship: can the Canadian bring home the bacon? Sorry, couldn’t resist. 🙂

I was slightly caught off-guard when I just checked the PGA leaderboard. Mike Weir carries a one stroke lead into the weekend at the Bell Canadian Open with World #1 Vijay Singh hot on his tail. It’s interesting to look at Weir’s results from this year. I hadn’t heard his name in quite some time and I quickly see why. After a pretty hot start this year (T5 at the FBR Open, T4 at Pebble Beach, then winning the Nissan Open), he had a string of missed cuts and poor finishes. The only two saving graces since that start was a T4 at the U.S. Open and a T9 at the British Open. Ok, so he turns it on for the majors. Who doesn’t? Here’s to hoping he can hang on. I’m tired of hearing about Vijay.

Let’s not overlook David Duval this week. David not only made the cut – something he’s failed to do for 14 months or so – but he finished T13 with a 4-under 67 on the closing day of the Deutsche Bank Championship. This is his best finish since T6 in a 2002 event in Las Vegas.

David will win a tournament in the next two years. That’s my prediction and I’m sticking to it.

Vijay Singh is now the number one golfer in the world, according to The Official World Golf Ranking, by a slim margin: 12.72 to 12.27.

Congrats to Vijay. Hard work does pay off.

Now, the question being asked is simply this: how long until Tiger gets it back? He played really well last week…