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More Sunday fireworks
at Waialae

YOU knew it wasn't going to be quite that simple. Shigeki Maruyama. Nice guy. Great smile. No one plays with more life.

He's a big name with a big game and a bigger following and he hails from the sponsor's home country.

That in itself would have made a great story.

But you knew this tournament would have a surprise or two left in it yet.

This is the Sony Open in Hawaii, which means fireworks on the final day. He who opens Sunday with the lead isn't safe. Something's going to happen.

It's always a great finish.

There's always a twist.

There were too many titans left lurking back in the field. Two of them, Singh and Els.

You knew somebody was going to come charging in from way back.

They both did, of course. This was Singh. This was Els. And it went down to the final hole for both.

This tournament just doesn't disappoint, does it?

And so here came Vijay Singh, the No. 1 player in the world. There was Ernie Els, No. 3, the two-time defending Sony Open champ.

When you look in the field and who has a chance to make a run, who would, and who should, well, it happened.

You knew these giants were going to stomp on the earth, and the place shook.

The tournament couldn't have asked for a better 1-2-3.

This time, there would be no playoff. It looked likely for a while, but Els finished too early.

As the guy to my right said, you've got to bet on Singh when the guy he's competing against is already eating lunch.

And so the world's No. 1 wins here, beating Ernie Els by a single stroke.

It seems like Singh is the one who took this week to peak.

Els peaked yesterday. He shot a 62, making a run from 2 under, finishing birdie-birdie-the eagle has landed, to steal the lead.

"I knew I had to make 3 just to have half a chance," he would say, and on 18 he did, putting a 10 under on the board.

Singh would say he could hear the roar.

They love Ernie here.

"Good luck," a young boy said, as Els headed for the 18th tee.

"Thank you," Els said.

And then he hit it and walked up the fairway of the hole that would give him the lead.

"I love Ernie," a young man said.

"Let's go, Ernie!" a small girl said.

Early or not, his was a champion's ovation, as he walked toward the green.

They love him here.

"Today there was a bit of a light, you know, coming through the tunnel there," he would say.

But Singh saw it too. He and Els had stalked the rest of the field like lions running down weaker prey.

"It does play some crazy things in your mind," Singh said, of seeing the numbers on the board, of seeing a predator coming up from behind.

By now you knew they were coming, the two of them. The other contenders, Maruyama, Brett Quigley, were still very much there. It only seemed as if they had already melted away.

"I didn't know what the rest of the guys were going to do," Singh said. "I knew what Ernie finished and I knew that was the mark to catch."

Singh and Els, from out of the dust.

It's an annual tradition. This tournament always finishes big.

Then Els left to a champion's cheers and retired to the TV tower, then the clubhouse, for a late lunch with his family. Watching TV to see if Singh would catch him, too, or if he'd have to go out there again.

But then the world's No. 1 stepped up at 18, where he hadn't birdied all week. He launched his tee shot, and you knew it was over.

"When it came off, there was a big tree in front of me," Singh said. "I was just kind of worried about going around it and it flew right over that.

"That was the worry part," Singh said. "Seeing it go by that was a lift."

Then he birdied, 11 under, and went off to practice until it was official. And then it was.

The world's No. 1 player won here. He beat Ernie Els by a single stroke, two of golf's greats with dueling dramatic comebacks. You knew it was going to be exciting, and it was. You knew something big was going to happen, and it did.

Just another Sunday, at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

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