Singh's consistency simply amazing
IN: News | US PGA | Funai Classic (2003) | Wrap | by Bruce Young | 27 Oct 2003
Vijay Singh's win at the Funai Classic yesterday was his fourth of the season but it has been his consistency all year that has been his most impressive attribute.
His win gave him his 16th top ten in 25 appearances this year on the USPGA Tour and his 11th top five. While this has been an outstanding year by any measure, consistency has been the feature of Singh's career, more especially over the past four years. In 134 starts since the beginning of 1999 on the USPGA Tour, Singh has produced 60 top tens with eight wins in that time.
Compared to the statistics of Tiger Woods they pale in comparison with Tiger having played 95 events in that time, for 79 top tens including 32 wins, but by any mortal's standards they are brilliant.
His win here sets him up for his first money title on the USPGA Tour especially given that he will play this week in Tampa and the Tour Championship in Houston with Tiger only playing the season-ending Tour Championship. Irrespective of what happens over the next two weeks, Singh will have finished fifth or better on the money list in each of the last seven seasons. He is within one win of going ahead of Davis Love as the number two all time career money winner, having earned $US25,108,500 with Woods still heading the list at $US39,681,265.
The one disappointing performance in recent starts was his defeat at the hands of Ernie Els at the HSBC World Match Play Championship, letting a four up lead slip to eventually lose 5 & 4.
Singh has not played in Tampa before and clearly he has made it his intention to play as often as possible in the last few months of the season to give himself the best chance possible of winning the money title. One would think this will be perhaps the best chance he has of doing so either previously or in the future. While it appears on the surface to be a two horse race, it is possible for Davis Love, should he win both events and both Woods and Singh not perform for him to take the title. Two consecutive wins, certainly a big ask, would see him move to $US7,637,096. At present Singh stands on $US6,827,000 and Woods $US6,577,413.
The Funai Classic saw the chances of several Australasians regaining their tour card for 2004 all but extinguished. Ogilvy 9th, Senden 24th, and Lonard 30th and Aaron Baddeley 63rd, are all safe for the 2004 season on the PGA Tour, but for Mathew Goggin and Anthony Painter, 50th and Craig Perks, Steve Alker and Gavin Coles who all missed the cut and Greg Chalmers who was disqualified things are not looking so bright.
Alker (163rd on the money list) Chalmers (140th), Goggin (156th), and Painter (169th) will all get their last chance this week in Tampa to make the progress on the money list that will at least give them some status on the 2004 PGA Tour. Craig Perks, who is struggling with his game, has the luxury of a five year exemption via his win at the TPC in 2002 to fall back on so he has no concerns in that regard but will be in Tampa anyway.
