Vijay Singh, Whistling Straits then and now
It’s been six years since the last PGA Championship took place at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis. In 2004 the 86th PGA Championship was the first major championship to contest on the 7500 yard course, and resulted in a three man playoff with Vijay Singh victorious. Singh sky-rocketed to stardom after the victory, but has since fizzled out dealing with injuries over the last few years and a pesky putter that doesn’t want to behave.
The scene was set at the 2004 PGA Championship where, after 72 holes had been played, Singh, Chris DiMarco and Justin Leonard were tied for the lead at eight-under 280. The playoff between the three wouldn’t last long, as Singh – who had shot four-over 76 and had been birdie-less all day – tapped the ball in for birdie on the first hole of the playoff. DiMarco and Leonard didn't stand a chance and Singh's fourth round 76 remains the highest round scored by a winner to date.
So how has Singh been keeping busy since 2004?
Singh finished up the 2004 season as one of his best. With nine tournament wins and 18 top-ten finishes, it is easy to see why. Singh thought wining at Whistling Straits was the best thing to happen to him all year, but a few weeks later over the Labour Day weekend he won the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston and outranked Tiger Woods as the number one player in the world.
Woods maintained a 264 week reign at the top until Singh replaced him. The two continued a back and forth game between the top two positions until Woods clinched the spot for good after winning the 2005 Masters tournament.
Singh, nicknamed “The Big Fijian” for his 6 ft. 2 stature, turned professional in 1984. He got his start on the Asian and European Tour, and collectively has 14 wins from them. After he turned 40 Singh won a record breaking 22 PGA Tour events, a record previously held by Sam Snead. On the PGA Tour he has 34 wins in total, the most ever held by a non-American player.
Even after Woods reclaimed his number one title, Signed continued to intimidate the field when he teed off. He earned wins throughout 2006 and 2007 on both PGA and European Tours. He was listed on the 2006 Order of Merit on the European Tour and in 2007 he won the Mercedes Benz Championship, the first ever FedEx Cup event on the PGA Tour.
In 2008 Singh won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and went on to win the FedEx Cup trophy. When he entered the FedEx Cup play-offs he was ranked 7th; he won the first two events, and though he didn’t contend in the last two events he had enough of a point lead that he was still able to win the Cup.
Singh earned $60 million in PGA Tour earnings that year, and is the only other golfer other than Woods to reach this milestone.
Singh hasn’t won an event since 2008 at the Chevron World Challenge. He withdrew from the field following his FedEx Cup win to nurse a nagging injury which has continued to pester the golfer since.
In 2009 he announced he would undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his right knee. When he returned he had an average season and ended the year on his lowest ever ranking on the PGA points list.
This year Singh has made the cut five times out of 18 starts, and has only two top 10 finishes. Some say the fact that he has already won at Whistling Straits means that Singh is unlikely to do so again. Yet others believe is an early favorite regardless of his stats this year.
Does Singh still have it in him? Can he control his putter for another shot at victory on the course that cast him into the spotlight six years ago? Singh isn’t ruling it out, but during a season where 12 first time winners have graced the front pages following some of the most prestigious events, you never can be too sure if it’s going to an old favorite or a new hotshot.
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