Ageless Singh shows no signs of slowing down

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Vijay Singh ended the season as the TOUR's leading money winner and the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup champion.

What will you remember about the 2008 season? That was the question we asked PGATOUR.COM staffers and freelance contributors, who responded with a series of short essays that we will post during November (click here for the archive link).

Ten million reasons to smile. That's all you need to know about Vijay Singh in 2008.

Vijay capped his season by completing 72 holes at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. That's all he needed to do after winning The Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship, the first two events of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

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When the final putt dropped at East Lake, the $10 million FedExCup bonus was his. Oh, and Vijay was already masquerading as the TOUR's "Six-Million Dollar Man" after winning the money title with more than what Lee Majors was worth in the TV series.

Vijay did this by somehow convincing himself that he is the best putter in the world. If there has been a chink in the big Fijian's armor over the last few years it has been his flat stick. He started the transformation after winning the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. The proof came when he rolled in a 25-footer on Sergio Garcia to extend their playoff at The Barclays and then birdied the second hole for the victory.

At 45, most player's skills are somewhat diminished. But Vijay seems to be getting better. He stays in incredible physical shape, works harder than anyone in the game and has managed to avoid major injury throughout his career. Over the last couple of years it appeared that Vijay might be slowing down a bit. An ankle brace showed up a year ago. This year he wore a brace on his forearm. Neither was able to topple one of the game's best.

Where does he go from here? He has three major championships and the FedExCup. He is a former world No. 1 and one of just two men to occupy that position since David Duval relinquished it to Tiger nearly a decade ago. His record of winning tournaments after the age of 40 is likely to stand for a very long time, and he has already been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. In short, he is the best player over the age of 40 in the history of the game and his legacy continues to grow.

Vijay will begin the 2009 season as he has 13 times before, at the Mercedes-Benz Championship -- and he has only finished out of the top-10 at Kapalua once. In this era of young hot shots Vijay has shown that he is simply not content to nibble at the corners.

As he approaches his 46th birthday, Vijay is as much a factor now as he has ever been and is a proven winner. Look for more of the same from the big Fijian, and -- if he can keep his putter rolling -- he just might challenge for the No. 1 spot again before the sun finally sets on his career.

John Maginnes, a columnist for PGATOUR.COM, has 10 million reasons to smile now that his essay is done.