Palmer Invitational Wrapup
Vijay Singh drained his 7 footer on the 18th green at Bay Hill and knew he did something special.
For 15 years at Bay Hill, Singh played and always came up short. In 14 starts at the tournament now dedicated to Arnold Palmer, the Arnold Palmer Invitational (formerly the Bay Hill Invitational), Singh played well, 3 runner-ups and two other top tens, but could never break through. Sunday was his break through.
Singh started the day 3 strokes behind Vaughn Taylor, that deficit was erased after Singh birdied the par-4 5th and then gained the lead the very next hole with another birdie. Singh added two more birdies on the front nine and was out in 31 and out to his first lead of the tournament.
The field played the 7,239 yard Bay Hill course over par every day. Sunday played extremely difficult for the players with the scoring average just under 73 (three over par). Yet, Singh did not look fazed at all by the difficult course. Countless times, Singh toyed with the course, hitting shots that we usually see in a video game.
Singh’s first birdie of the day came on the 2nd hole when he chipped-in from 20 yards off the green. On the par-4 8th, he threw his approach into the air and landed it about 40 feet behind the pin; like the ball had a magnet built in, the ball made a b-line straight for the cup, spun back and rested only a couple of feet away from the hole. Singh solidified his day on the 15th hole. He perfectly cut his drive around the dogleg right par-4 and left himself with a wedge into the 425 yard hole. Again, Singh played his signature massive spin wedge and his ball landed less than a foot away from the cup.
Despite bogeys on the 16th and 17th, which could have let Taylor or Sergio Garcia back into the tournament, Singh knew he had the tournament won when he arrived to the 18th green. Singh made his par putt on 18, lifted his arms in the air (pretty much the most emotion you will ever see the Fijian display) and knew he finally got to meet with Arnie after the tournament to celebrate a victory and not discuss another loss.
Of course, this tournament has been very special to Singh. His string of starts at Bay Hill started in 1993 when Palmer gave him a sponsor’s exemption. Palmer took a chance on a 30-year-old, PGA Tour rookie and that generosity by Palmer started Singh’s Hall of Fame career. Later in ’93, Singh won his first title and was named Rookie of the Year.
For eleven years Singh meandered through the Asian Tour, where his infamous scorecard doctoring controversy began, and the European Tour, but found a home on the PGA Tour at age 30. Now, a three-time major winner, Hall of Famer and, with one more win, the winningest non-American golfer in tour history. Singh finally got the monkey off his back at Bay Hill, is the first repeat winner on tour in the 2007 season and looks to be in fine form with the Masters only three weeks away.
The PGA Tour finishes the final leg of its Florida swing when they travel to Doral for the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. Check-in with hookedongolf.com all week for updates and results.
