Singh, Sergio get set for another head-to-head battle

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NORTON, Mass. -- Sergio Garcia and Vijay Singh have been making nice with the tops of leaderboards all over the PGA TOUR lately.

Singh, currently No. 1 in the standings for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, took a little longer to turn it on then most expected. In his last four starts, though, the big Fijian has two wins -- the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and the Playoffs opener at The Barclays just last week.

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Vijay Singh is looking for his second win in as many weeks.

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Garcia, on the other hand, had his big win earlier this year at THE PLAYERS Championship and has been consistent ever since. He was second to Padraig Harrrington in the PGA Championship and lost to Singh in a playoff last week at The Barclays in his next start.

It's a new week, but it's been more of the same here at the Deutsche Bank Championship, the second leg of the Playoffs, for two of the TOUR's biggest international stars. Garcia will get another crack at Singh in Monday's final round at TPC Boston, as the two will be paired together in the second-to-last group at 1:30 p.m. ET.

But, they can't just worry about one another.

Mike Weir will begin the final round with a one-shot lead over Camilo Villegas at 17-under 196. Neither player will have much room for error though, as Garcia and Singh are both lurking just three shots off the pace at 14 under.

"I probably feel like I deserved a couple of more shots better, but on the other hand, it's not a bad round," said Garcia after Sunday's 3-under 68.

Like Garcia, Singh was ho-hum about his 2-under 69 on Sunday.

"I played good golf from tee to green today and that's what I should be happy about," he said. "But the putting needs to be better."

Garcia has been riding a great streak lately. Along with those runner-up finishes at the PGA Championship and The Barclays, he also had a runner-up finish at the European Open and a tie for fourth at the Stanford St. Jude Championship.

"You sound surprised," Garcia jokingly barked at a reporter when the reporter mentioned the consistency. "It's nice to play well. It's nice to hit good putts. It's nice to see some of them fall instead of go all over the edges."

Putting usually is the Achilles' heel for both Singh and Garcia, but that seems to be changing. Singh was good with the putter at The Barclays -- his ball-striking was the key to the win -- while Garcia was outstanding. Garcia ranked first in putts per green in regulation and tied for second in putts per round.

While neither player has been quite as sharp with the short-stick at the Deutsche Bank Championship as they were at The Barclays, they're still right in the thick of things. The duo is tied for second in greens in regulation this week.

"I'm going to go out there tomorrow and play hard to win," said Singh, who won the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2004 and has two other top-5s here. "If it happens, it happens. I need to putt a little better than I did today. Actually, I need to make a few more putts than I did today."

"I'm obviously a lot more confident with my game and with myself and that's always nice to see," Garcia said. "When you're feeling good, even if things don't go right, you're not as worried."

A win for Singh would put him well ahead in the Playoffs standings, but he's not ready to look ahead just yet.

"I'm grinding it out," he said. "Stay in there and just be patient."

In the meantime, Garcia said while turning the tables on last week would be nice, he wouldn't be disappointed if things didn't pan out that way.

"It would be great to win this tournament," he said. "But even if I don't, it's been a good solid week. Having a chance to win is what we practice for. Obviously we're trying to win, but even if I don't, at least I have a shot at it."

But what would it take to win?

"I have to play well," Garcia said, laughing. "I need to finish one less than the guy in second. Or the same so I can beat him in a playoff."