Mercedes-Benz player spotlight: Vijay Singh

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PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem chats with Vijay Singh before his tee time on Thursday.

Jan. 11, 2009
By PGATOUR.com

Each week during the 2009 season, PGATOUR.com will spotlight one key player in the field. For this week, it's Vijay Singh, a former Mercedes-Benz Championship winner who comes off a spectacular 2008 finish in which we won three tournaments and the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

Consider this file to be your one-stop source for everything concerning Vijay this week, with links to Vijay-related content, Vijay notes and stats, and video and other multimedia elements. Then, once competition starts, we'll update this file every day with Vijay's results and statistics after each round in Maui.

Vijay's round-by-round results

Rd.	Score	Position	Eagles	Birdies	Pars	Bogeys	Others	SHOT TRACKER
1	73 (even par)	T21	0	4	11	2	1	Click to replay round
Vijay started his season on a sour note with a double-bogey 6 on No. 1, a 520-yard par 4 after hitting an errant tee shot.
2	73 (even par)	T24	0	5	9	3	1	Click to replay round
For the second straight day, Vijay found trouble on the first hole at Kapalua. It was a bogey this time, one shot better than Thursday's double-bogey 6. Vijay picked up birdies on Nos. 3 and 4, but gave the shots back with a double bogey at the par-3 eighth.
Rd.	Score	Position	Eagles	Birdies	Pars	Bogeys	Others	SHOT TRACKER
3	71 (2 under)	29	0	7	6	5	0	Click to replay round
While Vijay enjoyed his best round of the week by two shots, it wasn't enough to gain any ground. His struggles continued on Kapalua's opening hole. He made bogey there on Saturday to go along with a bogey on Friday and a double bogey on Thursday.
4	70 (3 under)	T27	0	6	9	3	0	Click to replay round
Vijay saved his best round of the week for last. With four birdies on the front nine to go along with two bogeys and two birdies on the back nine against one bogey, Vijay shot a 3-under 70 Sunday to move up two spots and finish the season opener tied for 27th.

SUNDAY
• Singh's scorecard: Check out all of Vijay's scores from the final round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship. Scorecard
• Replay the round: Use PGA TOUR Shot Tracker to replay each and every shot the 2008 FedExCup Champion hit in the final round. Tracker

SATURDAY
• Singh's scorecard: Check out all of Vijay's scores from the third round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship. Scorecard
• Replay the round: Use PGA TOUR Shot Tracker to replay each and every shot the 2008 FedExCup Champion hit in the third round. Tracker

FRIDAY
• Singh's scorecard: Check out all of Vijay's scores from the second round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship. Scorecard
• Replay the round: Use PGA TOUR Shot Tracker to replay each and every shot the 2008 FedExCup Champion hit in the second round. Tracker

THURSDAY
• Singh's scorecard: Check out all of Vijay's scores from the first round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship. Scorecard
• Replay the round: Use PGA TOUR Shot Tracker to replay each and every shot the 2008 FedExCup Champion hit in the first round. Tracker

WEDNESDAY
• Singh's blog: In his blog entry written exclusively for PGATOUR.com, Vijay discusses his upcoming knee surgery, the extensive time off he will require, and how he'll occupy all those weeks away from the practice range. Blog
• Transcript: Here's what Vijay said during his news conference in Kapalua. Transcript
• News: Vijay will have knee surgery and could miss up to five weeks. More
• Power Rankings: Check out where Vijay ranks going into the Mercedes-Benz Championship. Power Rankings

Vijay Singh: Featured content

	FIVE QUESTIONS. After one of the best seasons of his career, what will Vijay do for an encore? Helen Ross provides the answers to the five most pressing questions going into 2009. Click here for story
	CAN'T SLOW HIM DOWN. Vijay will turn 46 next month, a time when TOUR golfers usually start to taper off. But he seems to be managing those middle-age speed bumps quite nicely, writes Craig Dolch. Click here for story
	TOP 100 PLAYERS TO WATCH. In our list of the Top 100 Players to Watch in 2009, Vijay checked in at No. 5. Click here for more
	OUTSIDE THE ROPES. Want to get the inside scoop on Vijay's favorite meal, his first job and his first car? Check out his Outside The Ropes video. Click here for video
	2008 PHOTO GALLERY. It was quite a year for Vijay, especially late in the season when he surged to the FedExCup title. Click here for photo gallery
	PLAYER PAGE. Want more on Vijay? On his PGATOUR.com player page, you can check out his results through the years, or how he ranks on TOUR in certain statistical categories. Click here for player page

Take Five

Five things you should know about Vijay Singh

	He won the 2008 PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.
	He has won three majors: the 2000 Masters and the 1998 and 2002 PGA Championships.
	Of his 34 TOUR wins, 22 have come since he turned 40. That's a record.
	While learning the game, he modeled his swing after Tom Weiskopf's swing.
	His first name means "victory" in Hindi.

Vijay Singh at the Mercedes-Benz Championship

The Plantation Course at Kapalua has treated Vijay very well through the years. Of his 12 starts at the Mercedes-Benz Championship, nine have been at the Plantation Course ... and eight times, he has finished in the top 10, including a win in 2007. In all, Singh has earned $3,378,308.33 at the tournament. Here's the breakdown of Singh's performances at the Mercedes-Benz Championship.
Year	Finish	Rd.1	Rd.2	Rd.3	Rd.4	Total	Winnings	FEC points
2008	T12	74	70	67	70	281 (-11)	$130,000	525
2007	1	69	69	70	70	278 (-14)	$1,100,000	4,500
2006	2	70	74	74	66	284 (-8)	$630,000
2005	T5	66	65	69	74	274 (-18)	$211,333
2004	2	68	64	69	70	271 (-21)	$600,000
2003	T4	68	70	67	65	270 (-22)	$224,000
2001	T3	71	67	67	71	276 (-16)	$203,000
2000	T8	73	77	67	72	289 (-3)	$79,000
1999	4	70	65	70	71	276 (-16)	$124,800
1998	T13	75	72	67	66	280 (-8)	$38,675
1996	T24	73	71	72	73	289 (+1)	$16,000
1994	T17	69	70	76	72	287 (-1)	$21,500

NOTE: The tournament was held at the Plantation Course at Kapalua from 1999-present. Prior to that, it was played at La Costa in Carlsbad, Calif. from 1969-1998.