Singh wins weather-delayed Shell Houston Open
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2004 Shell Houston Open | Wrap | 27 Apr 2004
It may have taken a while to get the tournament finished but Vijay Singh today justified his massive pre-tournament favouritism by winning the Shell Houston Open for the second time.
Singh played twenty four holes today, having completed his third round early on day five, without dropping a shot and picking up four birdies along the way. In fact, Singh had only one hole where he scored worse than par in the final 54 holes of the event, which was his double bogey at the 7th hole in round two. It was the sort of performance that has come to personify Singh’s remarkable consistency and tenacity when in or near the lead. Singh has been inside the top ten in twenty four of his last thirty five starts since January of 2003, with seventeen of those inside the top five.
Singh, as was the case with the rest of the field today, found himself in the rather unusual position of playing the final round paired with players who were not his closest challengers leading into round four. That situation had arisen due to the need to play the balance of round three and round four on Monday in order to complete the event. At the completion of round three the same pairings were retained to ensure no time was lost in the quest to complete the tournament. Wet weather and the subsequent impact on the course, had caused many delays during the first four days of the tournament and that they were able to complete seventy two holes was an accomplishment in itself.
For Singh, this would be his seventeenth USPGA Tour victory spanning over a period going back to his first, in 1993. There have now been nine wins since the 2000 Masters and given his incredible consistency then there is every reason to believe that number will be added to quickly. That’s of course not forgetting the 22 or so that he was won internationally. The win takes Singh to within $100,000 of the leader of the 2004 money list chase, Phil Mickelson.
Not only has Singh been prolific with the number of wins but it has also been his capacity to win on such a wide range of courses and under such varying conditions that makes his record so impressive. One look at his long list of victories will highlight the fact that he is capable of winning anywhere, no doubt a legacy of his upbringing and start in tournament golf where he was forced to play wherever he could to get his professional career underway. Winning everywhere from Malaysia, to Africa, to Europe, to Britain, all before hitting the USPGA Tour full time in 1993, gave him a game and acceptance of variety that has stood him in such good stead now.
Even once he reached the US he has continued to show this remarkable trait of being able to adjust quickly to the variety of grasses and climates within continental USA, winning from New York, to Florida, to Texas, to Georgia, to California and Washington to name just a few. He has yet to win in Hawaii but he has been close with a second at the Mercedes this year. He is also yet to win in Japan but those opportunities do not come often for someone with a schedule as full as that of the 41-year-old Fijian.
His win today was almost clinical as he eliminated mistakes and although Scott Hoch got within one shot late in the round, a birdie by Singh at the fifteenth after a wayward second had hit a spectator, gave him the cushion for the run to the line.
Hoch has been sadly out of form since his win at last year’s Ford Championship although some of that has been wrist injury related. A 7th placing last week at Heritage gave a sign that things were getting better however.
In a week where the older brigade dominated, John Huston, who also had a good week last week at the Heritage, especially early, is yet another forty plus golfer mixing it with the youngsters. After missing the cut here last year here, Huston didn’t let down those looking for an omen bet here at the Shell Houston Open.
Stephen Ames, still without a win on the USPGA Tour, must surely be not too far from that milestone. He is in fine form at present and his back nine of 30 today to finish fourth after a disappointing finish to his front nine, will give him the belief that he can go close at next week’s event in New Orleans where he has played well previously. Ames is a fine wind player and there are often such conditions at English Turn. The Canadian based Trinidad and Tobago native, turns 40 on Wednesday so he is yet another in the “experienced” category
Dudley Hart shared fourth with Ames and he has now earned enough money, while playing on his medical extension in 2004, to ensure he can play out the rest of the year. His herniated disc problem last year curtailed his 2003 campaign and as a result he was given seven events in 2004 to earn the $105,000 to take him to the $487,000 needed when added to his 2003 earnings, to match that of the 125th player last year. This placing alone will get him $220,000 so he is well and truly safe.
Of the Australasians Ogilvy continuing a run of solid form was 10th, Pampling 43rd after leading in round one, Robert Allenby 49th, Scott Hend another disappointing last round of 77 for 58th and Aaron Baddeley 65th.
