Singh takes title at the Sony Open in Hawaii

Jan. 16, 2005 GolfWeb Wire Services

HONOLULU -- A forgotten figure most of the week despite his No. 1 ranking, Vijay Singh showed up when it counted Sunday with a routine birdie on the final hole to cap off a 5-under 65 and win the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Singh never had the lead at breezy Waialae Country Club until he hammered a 300-yard drive on the par-5 18th, hit a utility club just short of the green and took two putts to avoid a playoff against hard-charging Ernie Els.

It was the kind of start to the 2005 season Singh wanted, coming off nine victories last year. And he was still smarting from a final-round triple bogey at Kapalua last week that cost him a chance to win the season-opening Mercedes Championships.

"Everybody thinks, 'Is he going to win again?' That could work against me," Singh said. "I think this is going to help. This is a great relief that I can start breathing again and go and play more comfortable the rest of the season. I'm looking forward to the rest of it. This is what I needed."

Singh finished at 11-under 269, and the $864,000 first-place check returned him to the top of the money list. With all the talk of the "Big Three," the 41-year-old Fijian showed he's still the man to beat.

"I never could finish four good rounds of golf here," Singh said. "This week, I hung in there and did it."

But the Big Easy made it interesting.

Els made two short birdies, then an 18-foot eagle on the final hole to tie the course record with a 62. "I was always felt like it was going to be just a little shy," Els said. "He did what he had to do."

The roar from the crowd after the eagle putt was so loud that it reached Singh, who was playing the 12th hole and suddenly knew exactly what happened - and what he had to do.

"I had six holes to go. I said, `I need a birdie without a bogey, and I think I can win it,"' Singh said.

He followed with five pars, then picked up his first birdie of the week on the par-5 18th. It wasn't easy, because Singh struggles with a draw off the tee, and anything too far to the right will run into the rough.

"To hit it where I did today, I could take another bucket of balls and not to be able to hit that shot," Singh said. "I think it came out just perfect."

Singh delivered a performance everyone expected of the No. 1 player, even if it seemed as though no one noticed until he had a lei around his neck and the trophy in his hand.

First came 15-year-old Michelle Wie, who was the talk of the tournament for two days until she missed the cut with rounds of 74-75. Then came Shigeki Maruyama, a popular figure with so many Japanese fans in Hawaii giving him the royal treatment when he took a one-shot lead into the final round.

In the end, it was a familiar figure at the top.

Singh won for the 25th time in his career, and picked up his 20th different PGA TOUR trophy.

Els made a valiant bid to win an unprecedented third straight Sony Open in Hawaii. Bedeviled by his putting all week, he finally found a flat stick he liked to tie the course record previously set by three other players over the last four years.

It was the second straight week the winner came from four shots behind. Stuart Appleby closed with a 67 to win last week in the Mercedes Championships.

Maruyama lost a one-shot lead with a bogey on the 12th by missing the fairway, and making a 10-footer to save bogey after going long on the 14th green.

He closed with a 71 and tied for third at 271 with Charles Howell III (67).

Brett Quigley, trying to win for the first time in 221 starts on the PGA TOUR, also bogeyed the 14th and saw any hope end by missing a 4-foot par putt on the 17th. He shot a 71 to tie for fifth with Stewart Cink (65).

Vijay Singh made five birdies during the final round. (AP)

Maruyama faced pressure from trying to protect a tenuous lead, and from the large Japanese gallery that hung on every shot he hit, even the tap-ins. The crowd was so large that a marshal asked those next to the rope around the second green to sit down so the throng coming up the fairway could see.

Even more amazing was that everyone obeyed, quickly taking a knee.

Maruyama missed a 6-foot birdie on the fourth, then a 3-foot par putt on the sixth to fall back into a share of the lead.

It wasn't long before it got crowded at the top -- at one point, four players were tied for the lead at 10 under.

But as the round headed to a conclusion, only one man kept hitting every fairway and giving himself a birdie chance on every hole. It was Singh, the same guy collecting all the trophies last year.

"He's at the top of his game right now," Els said. "He's swinging well, he's doing everything really good. With all that talent, he's not going to go away."

Divots:

• Paul Azinger was one shot out of the lead until he was caught between clubs, went long on No. 6 and made double bogey. He shot a 74 to tie for 17th.

• Craig Stadler closed with a 67 to finish as low Champions Tour player in the field at 6-under 274. Peter Jacobsen (68) finished at 278, while Dick Mast (75) was at 282 and Tom Kite (75) was at 286. Mast, who got in as a Monday qualifier, was headed for San Diego overnight to try to Monday qualify for the Buick Invitational.

©The Associated Press. All rights reserved.