Workaholic Singh rewarded at John Deere Classic
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2003 John Deere Classic | Wrap | 16 Sep 2003
Vijay Singh’s decision to play a lot of tournament golf in the latter part of this season has already been rewarded with his third win of the year on the USPGA Tour in Silvis today.
His final round of 65 at the John Deere Classic allowed him to draw clear from a congested leaderboard, to eventually win by four from Chris Riley, J.L.Lewis and Jonathan Byrd. It was Vijay Singh at his best as he reeled off three birdies at the 14th, 15th and 17th to break clear of a group that seemed destined to fight the tournament out over the closing stages.
The $US630,000 first prize sees Singh atop the USPGA Tour money list with $US5,702,000 and an outside chance, with perhaps another win, for USPGA Tour player of the year honours.
This was the Fijian’s 14th top ten in 23 starts this season, nine of those top fives, three of those second place finishes and this the third win. The only cut he has missed this season is his rather out of character effort at the TPC earlier in the season. Seven top tens in his last eight starts reveal an amazing consistency and a reward for a golfer with an extraordinary work ethic. He has played the last seven weeks in a row following his one week break after finishing 2nd at the British Open.
Singh has always played a lot of golf especially when you consider the amount of events he plays internationally in addition to the USPGA Tour. He has played more events than any other player in the top ten this year. It is, however, obviously a formula that works for him. It is also interesting to see his previous caddie Dave Renwick on the bag again these last few months. Renwick worked for Singh when he won the USPGA and beyond but has worked several bags in between time including a stint with our very own Adam Scott.
New Zealander Steve Alker was the leading Australasian, producing his second best finish of the year with a 25th placing. He has made eight of his last twelve cuts so compared to his form earlier in the year things are improving, but with just $US224,000 to his name this year things will need to improve a lot more yet, if he is to threaten the top 125.
Greg Chalmers was the leading Australian in 48th place while Steve Allan was 58th.
The USPGA Tour now heads to Pennsylvania for the ’84 Lumber Classic of Pennsylvania.
