Singh Leads After First Round Score Fit for a Hall of Famer

Vijay Singh came out firing in defense of his Shell Houston Open victory a year ago. His blistering 8-under 64 ties the course and put Vijay in the lead by one stroke. Singh’s low first-round score comes a day after the announcement that he has been elected to the Hall of Fame. This round also shows that he is fighting to become the #1 player in the world rankings once again.

In the past, Singh has played extremely well on this 7508-yard Texas course. Vijay Singh is the defending champion here in Houston. He also won in 2002. And familiar territory it is, as Redstone Golf Club is once again the host of the 2005 Shell Houston Open. As one of the longest courses on the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour pea poppers are at a mighty disadvantage. Fortunately for them, Vijay Singh is the only player ranked within the top eight players in the World Rankings to make an appearance this year.

At last year’s Shell Houston Open, Vijay Singh won by two strokes on a Monday finish. It is obvious that his goal is to have back-to-back wins here in Houston. An opening-round leading score of 64 is the first step toward achieving that goal. Singh extended his streak of par or better at Restone Golf Club to 54 holes. During his bogey-free first round, Vijay Singh had eight birdies, tying the course record in the process.

This fabulous round came just one day after it was announced that Singh has been elected to the Hall of Fame. Singh had been notified of the honor three weeks prior to this event. He said, “My focus this week is coming out here.” With players congratulating him on the feat he said, “Every player out there said something about it, so that was good.” That positive feedback would, without a doubt, make a player feel good about their game, leading to a good score.

Singh would be followed by two Australian players, Gavin Coles and Brendan Jones, whom are currently at seven under par. Australians have been dominating the PGA Tour this year after winning five tournaments. There are also eight players log-jammed at five-under par followed by numerous players at three- and four-under par. Other notables are John Daly at -4, Mark Calcavecchia at -3, and David Toms at E.

The weather forecast for tomorrow’s second round calls for a high of 84° F and a 40% chance of precipitation. The morning tee times look to be safe from rain but there is a chance of scattered strong thunderstorms for the afternoon groups. In the past years, rain has come and washed away the low scores but let’s hope that doesn’t happen this year. For example, in 2004 the average score was 73.065 in rainy conditions. Rain makes for an adventurous round on this course.

Pos    Player          Tot     R1
1      Vijay Singh     -8      64
T2     Gavin Coles     -7      65
T2     Brendan Jones   -7      65
T4     Chris Smith     -5      67
T4     Jeff Maggert    -5      67
T4     Ted Purdy       -5      67