Vijay Singh
When Vijay Singh captured the 2004 AT&T he was equally as thrilled to meet the man presenting him the winning trophy. Singh had always been a huge Clint Eastwood fan and now was face-to-face with his Hollywood idol.
“I watched all of his movies a few times over,” gushed Singh. “Receiving the cup from Clint was the highlight of the whole week. He’s my hero.”
Singh particularly likes 'The Outlaw Josie Wales', but to symbolize his rise to fame as a professional golfer he might want to review 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'.
By capturing the inaugural event of the ’07 campaign, the Fijian notched his 30th career victory and, even more impressively, his 18th title since turning 40. Those are just a couple of the good achievements. He came from humble beginnings and traveled the globe to develop a game that has produced three major championships and elevated him to the #1 player in golf.
“It’s a miracle to have won just one tournament coming from Fiji,” he states.
The bad moments mostly stem from a moody demeanor and single-minded focus that keeps outsiders at bay. His negative comments about Annika Sorenstam’s participation in the Colonial and the reporter who quoted him, caused a stir. His up and down interaction with fans, caddies, volunteers and the media forced him to employ former Clinton press secretary Mike McCurry for communications training.
On the course a balky putter prevents him from winning more, as does the intimidating presence of Tiger Woods—starring as the real life version of The Man With No Name—who continually ousts Singh in key events.
One alleged ugly incident has hampered Singh for over 20 years. While playing in the Indonesian Open, Singh was reported by his playing partner to have doctored his scorecard enabling him to make the 36-hole cut. Despite continuing to defend his innocence in several interviews the accusation continues to hang in the same closet with his Green Jacket.
Nevertheless, the hard work, perseverance and incredible talent can’t be denied. As a youngster he used to walk with his clubs in sewer pipes running underneath the Nandi Airport to hit practice balls. At times Singh skipped school to work on his game. To earn enough money to continue playing golf he worked as a teaching pro in a rain forest and later was employed as a bouncer in a Scottish bar.
Compared to those days, pounding balls on the Big Island probably seems like a breeze, but in order to conquer the winds at Kapalua he reportedly just did so for two weeks. The preparation paid immediate dividends. Singh always competes heavily on the west coast and would love to get off to a hot start to narrow the ever-widening gap with Woods.
Jack Nicklaus captured an historic sixth Masters after turning 46. Ray Floyd won at Doral as a senior tour player. Sam Snead didn’t complete his winning ways with the youngsters until he turned 52. Vijay Singh wants to better those distinguished accomplishments and set a standard of middle-aged excellence for years to come.
