[ MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS ]
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Vijay Singh chips the ball to the ninth green of the Plantation Course during the second round of the Mercedes Championships in Kapalua, Maui, yesterday.
Catching Tiger
Vijay Singh says he has
a chance to overtake the
world's top player
KAPALUA, Maui >> Vijay Singh doesn't buy into the notion that when Tiger Woods is in the house, everyone is playing for second.
Currently No. 2 in the world behind Woods, the 40-year-old believes he has a realistic shot at overtaking Woods. You can't really blame the Fijian for setting such high standards. Last year, he kept Woods from winning the PGA Tour money title for a fifth straight year.
Singh won four tournaments out of 27 events to pocket a cool $7.57 million, beating Woods, who played in nine fewer starts, by $900,000. He didn't play particularly well in the majors, but managed 18 top-10 finishes, the most since Tom Kite had 21 top 10s in 1981.
"Yeah, very much so," Singh said after being asked if No. 1 was a realistic goal. "I mean, I like to play the way I've been playing. I cannot play any worse and get No. 1, let's put it this way. I need to improve, take a step a little further, and catch Tiger.
"I mean, he's not going to slow down either. So I have to take care of my own game and improve my own self. You know, I don't think I can catch him this year. But, you know, maybe in a year or so. His points are so far ahead of me, even if I win a few times this year, it's not going to be easy for me to catch him."
While Stuart Appleby and his birdie barrage grabbed most of the attention early during yesterday's second round of the $5.3 million Mercedes Championships, Singh quietly went along with a quality round of his own, including seven consecutive birdies to finish the round. He birdied eight of the last nine holes en route to a 9-under 64 that vaulted him past Appleby at the 16th hole.
He may lead the Aussie by only one entering today's third round, but Singh has a comfortable nine-shot advantage over Woods in their first meeting of 2004. Some believe being 12 years older than Woods precludes Singh from having a realistic shot at catching him. That's not how Singh sees it. Other than a nagging rib injury that slowed him somewhat last year, Singh feels he's fit for duty.
"In my mind, 40 is just a number," Singh said. "I'm physically much stronger than I was when I was probably 25. You know, I never did any weights. My muscles were a little quicker, but not as strong as I am now. I feel like I'm a stronger person physically and mentally. I've learned a lot through the years."
He also learned to be careful when you speak your mind. As well as Singh played last year, he will probably be remembered more for saying that Annika Sorenstam didn't belong on the PGA Tour and that he hoped she missed the cut when she competed at the Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas.
He stood up well to all the negative publicity, but said his 13-year-old son couldn't understand all the bad comments and stories that came his family's way during the latter half of the year.
"There was a lot of negative written about me," Singh said. "I can take care of that when I read it, but when my son reads it, and then he asks questions about it, it's very hard to explain to a 13-year-old what's going on. That was hard for me to deal with the first month or so, but after that it was fine.
"I must give myself a lot of credit that I focused really hard on my own game and not what I read out there. What I read just kept going on for a few months after the incident happened. I focused on my own game. That was it."
Singh is also growing more comfortable at the Plantation Course. In his last four Mercedes appearances here in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003, Singh finished fourth, tied for eighth, tied for third and tied for fourth.
Earlier in the week Singh said he was a good putter, not a great one; but after needing only 25 putts yesterday, he conceded he was right on track. Part of it was taking risks on the back side, including pulling out the driver on the 10th and 14th holes, two relatively short par-4s. He was rewarded with short second shots that led to short putts for birdie.
"I liked the way I putted out there today," Singh said. "I wish I could putt like that all the time. I putted well on the front side; I just didn't make any. Today, I just decided to stick with my lines and see what happens. Hopefully, I can continue to putt like that over the weekend."
