Singh survives Woods rally

Vijay Singh followed up three spectacular rounds with an average one and it was enough to hold off a surging Tiger Woods and win the Buick Open yesterday in Grand Blanc, Mich.

Singh closed with a final-round 70 for a four-stroke victory and a 24-under-par 264 total.

Woods, who began the day eight shots back, tied for second after vaulting into contention with six birdies and an eagle in a nine-hole stretch.

After making a 17-foot putt for birdie at No. 17 to pull within two shots, Woods cupped his left ear to coax a louder reaction from the raucous gallery. Woods's drive at the final hole sailed wide right, while Singh, playing two groups behind, made his second birdie to take a three-shot lead.

Woods bogeyed the final hole and fell another shot back.

Woods, the No. 1 player in the world, and Singh, No. 2, have alternated positions atop the rankings for nearly a year.

Zach Johnson (69) tied Woods for second at 20 under. Robert Allenby (65) finished 18 under, alone in fourth.

Singh is the first three-time champion at the Buick Open, a tournament that started in 1958. He's also the first repeat champion since Tony Lema in 1965. The 42-year-old from Fiji has won four events this year and 28 in his career. Singh trails only Woods's 44 victories and leads Phil Mickelson by two among active PGA Tour players.

Champions -- Allen Doyle shattered the US Senior Open final-round record, closing with an 8-under 63 while others struggled to win his third major championship at Kettering, Ohio.

Doyle had a bogey-free round that included eight birdies, and managed to avoid the trouble that knocked third-round co-leaders Craig Stadler (76--278) and Loren Roberts (73--275), as well as D.A. Weibring (70--275) and others out of contention. His final-round 63, which beat the course record by a stroke, was the lowest by a Senior Open winner.

Doyle, who grew up in Norwood, beat the previous final-round score by four shots and finished at 10-under 274, one shot ahead of Roberts and Weibring. The victory, worth $470,000, was his 10th on the tour.

Stadler led by three shots with 10 holes to play, but imploded and finished four shots behind Doyle. Roberts was in control until making a double bogey at No. 11. Weibring was on top by a shot with two holes left, but bogeyed both.

Greg Norman (69--276) and Tom Watson (71--277), among others, had prime opportunities to steal the championship, but failed to make putts on the undulating greens at NCR Country Club.

LPGA -- Jeong Jang shot a 3-under 69 to win the Women's British Open at Southport, England, by four strokes, while Annika Sorenstam's quest for her third major title of the year ended with a fifth-place finish.

The South Korean, who led after each round at Royal Birkdale, was six strokes ahead at the turn on the way to the first victory of her six-year LPGA career.

Jang finished at 16-under 272 while Sophie Gustafson (67) was at 276. Sorenstam, who began the day tied for second at 8 under, shot a 71 to finish at 279.

Michelle Wie, playing her final tournament before returning to high school in Hawaii, birdied the last two holes for a 69 and finished at 10-under and in a tie for third place.

European -- Mark Hensby beat Henrik Stenson on the second playoff hole to win the Scandinavian Masters in Stockholm for his first European Tour victory.

Both finished regulation play at 22-under 262 after final-round 65s.