Banking on a revival
Singh hopes to cash in again at TPC Boston
NORTON - Vijay Singh might finally be starting to act his age. Unfortunately, it’s the last thing he wants to do.
Rewriting the record book for most PGA Tour wins by a player older than 40, the 46-year-old Fijian is nearing the end of what’s been his worst season on tour, with knee surgery, missed cuts, no wins, and indifferent play in 2009 taking the place of the victories and money titles he’s known for.
Ah, but it’s not too late to turn things around, and there’s probably no better place to cure Singh of what ails him than TPC Boston, the venue for the
The annual stop in Norton could serve as Singh’s ultimate slump-buster.
“I’ve always played well in Boston, I like playing there,’’ Singh said.
He almost didn’t make it here this year. Singh missed his sixth cut of the season last week at The Barclays, jeopardizing his spot in the
He’s dealt with his share of controversy and might not have the biggest fan club, but this much is indisputable: Singh is known for one of the best work ethics on tour, and he’s been a title-taking, money-making machine. Since joining the tour in 1993, he’s only had three seasons in which he didn’t win a tour event (1994, 1996, 2001), and he’s finished lower than 17th on the money list just once, racking up more than $60 million in career earnings. A strong case can be made that this decade, Singh has been the best player in the world not named Tiger Woods. Since 2000, he’s won more tournaments and more money than Phil Mickelson, and his average finish on the season-ending money list is 2.67, including three money titles. Mickelson never has won a PGA Tour money title, and his average money list finish since 2000 is 6.78.
Before this year, Singh has dazzled since turning 40. His 22 victories (out of 34) are the most in tour history by an over-40 player, five more than Sam Snead’s 17. The last of Singh’s three majors, the 2004 PGA Championship, also came in his 40s.
How to explain this year, then? The money (more than $1.2 million) is nice, but Singh only has three top-10 finishes, nothing higher than a tie for sixth. He’s also dropped to No. 14 in the world rankings - this time last year, he was third.
“I know my performances haven’t been that great, but I’m looking forward to another good run,’’ Singh said. “My results don’t show, but hopefully [soon] we’ll see a difference.’’
Singh hasn’t blamed his spotty season on knee surgery, which took place Jan. 14 to repair cartilage and caused him to miss four weeks. In fact, he’s said the knee is completely healed. He’s gone back and forth this year between a long putter and a conventional model, and the uncertainty has been evident: Singh is 190th on tour in putts per round. He’s also missing 40 percent of his fairways and not frequently saving par from the sand.
But now, he returns to a place where he’s comfortable, and consistently good. Singh’s career low tour score came at TPC Boston - a third-round 61 in 2006 - and he closed with a 63 last year to beat Mike Weir, setting the tournament’s 72-hole scoring record (22-under-par 262) in the process. He also won the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2004, holding off Woods in a performance that gave him the No. 1 ranking in the world. He’s bettered par in 15 of his 20 competitive rounds here, and boasts a 67.75 stroke average.
“When I first got there I did not like the golf course,’’ Singh said. “But the changes they made. I thought the redesign was great, incredible, and it gives you good feelings to go there and play.’’
His Deutsche Bank Championship win last year came a week after he won The Barclays, giving him victories in the first two playoff events and clinching the FedEx Cup title with two tournaments remaining. All he needed to do at the Tour Championship was play, and he’d be crowned the FedEx Cup champion.
That can’t happen this year, because points will be reset before the Tour Championship, turning that final event into a four-day shootout with $10 million going to the FedEx Cup winner.
Singh only hopes he’ll have a chance to stake his claim to it. A big step could come this week, at a tournament and on a course where he might rightly be considered one of the favorites, even if his game is fighting a recession.
Today is Military Appreciation Day at TPC Boston, with all active and retired members of the military and their immediate families granted free admission . . . Yesterday’s Stop & Shop Giant Family Foundation Pro-Am, which annually kicks off tournament week, was expected to raise more than $1.2 million for charities. The event included PGA Tour and LPGA Tour professionals, and was held at four locations: TPC Boston, Black Rock Country Club in Hingham, Wollaston Golf Club in Milton, and The Bay Club in Mattapoisett . . . The tournament has partnered with the PGA Tour this week for the Golf Fore Groceries Food Drive. Canned food is being collected today through Thursday at four Stop & Shop locations: Dedham, Mansfield, Norwood, and Plainville. Canned-food donations also can be made throughout tournament week at the
Michael Whitmer can be reached at mwhitmer@globe.com 
