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Singh's hot putter nails down win
World No 3 Vijay Singh fired a closing five-under-par 67 to rally past John Daly to win the US$4.5 million Buick Open on Sunday. The Fijian finished at 23-under 265, one stroke ahead of Daly (66). World No 1 Tiger Woods (66) and Paraquay's Carlos Franco (66) tied for third at 267 while Stewart Cink was fifth at 270. Singh, 41, who also lifted the Buick Open trophy in 1997, became only the third multiple winner of the event, joining Julius Boros (1963 and 1967) and Tony Lema (1964-65). The victory was also his fourth on the PGA Tour this season. "Those guys are legendary," Singh told reporters. "If that's a club, I'm really happy to be in that club." But Singh had to work hard to gain entry. His two-stroke, third-round lead was erased after Daly birdied the first hole and then holed a nine-iron approach for an eagle on the par-four second. Daly, 38, also birdied the third to nudge one shot in front of Singh. "(Singh) said he was going to kick my ass this morning on the range," Daly said. "And then after I holed out on two, he says, 'Oh, I take it back'. We had a lot of laughs, it was a great match today." Early blitz The tall Fijian refused to panic after Daly's early blitz. "I knew there were a lot of holes out there that you could catch up to make a move," Singh said. "I was just playing my game and I was patient. "I was trying to hit good shots and rolling the putter really nicely, that was good. I wasn't too worried out there." Singh moved back alongside Daly with a birdie at the 12th and regained the outright lead with another birdie at the 14th. Both players picked up strokes at the 16th before Singh carded a bogey on 18 while Daly missed a five-footer for par to tie. Woods, still without a strokeplay title this year, posted four rounds in the 60s and did not make a bogey over the final 39 holes. He continues to be positive as he prepares for the US PGA Championship in two weeks' time. "To play that well and not win is obviously frustrating but things are coming together and that's a positive going into a major," said Woods. Stupples wins In Sunningdale, England, Karen Stupples won the British Women's Open by five strokes on Sunday and became only the third Englishwoman to claim a major golf championship after a stunning final round of 64. With a 19-under par total, she equalled the championship record set by Australian Karrie Webb over the same course in 1997 as she held off the challenge of joint overnight leader Rachel Teske of Australia who had a closing 70. The 31-year-old Stupples opened the round in remarkable fashion with an eagle followed by an albatross before a run of three straight birdies from the 15th finally put her clear. American Heather Bowie was third on 13 under after a 71, with Mexico's Lorena Ochoa fourth on 12 under after a 70. Stupples, whose first win in five years as a professional was in the LPGA Tour season opener in Tucson, Arizona, is the first Englishwoman to win the title since Penny Grice-Whittaker in 1991. The tournament gained major status three years ago. Stupples' amazing start - she holed a 15-foot putt for the eagle three at the 485-yard first and then sank a five iron from 205-yards for the albatross two at the 475-yard second - set the tone for a thrilling afternoon showdown. But it took three birdies in a row from the 15th for Stupples to finally shake off the bunch of challengers and join Laura Davies, who has won four, and Alison Nicholas, the 1997 US Women's Open Champion, as English winners of a major. World No 1 Annika Sorenstam ended her defence of the championship with a rather disappointing 71 and had to settle for a share of 13th place. |
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