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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, January 17, 2005

Singh's birdie on final hole sinks Els' late Sony charge

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

Vijay Singh and Ernie Els validated their vaunted reputations and the World Golf Rankings yesterday, rallying from far back to transform the final round of the Sony Open in Hawai'i into a shootout between two of the planet's three best players.

Vijay Singh, No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings, shot a final round 5-under 65 to defeat Ernie Els by a shot in the Sony Open in Hawai'i, the first full-field event of the PGA season.

Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

Singh, a dominant No. 1, closed with a 5-under-par 65 to come from four shots back and win by a shot over Els at Waialae Country Club. Singh's 25th PGA Tour victory is just the latest turn in a remarkable roll that began as he closed in on his 40th birthday in 2003.

He won four times that year and nine more last year, when he collected nearly $11 million and finally took Player of the Year honors and the world's No. 1 ranking from Tiger Woods.

Yesterday, Singh thanked the third-ranked Els for torching Waialae in a final-round 62, tying the tournament record and giving the final groups a score of 10-under to shoot at for more than an hour.

"If you post a score up there, instead of you playing your normal game, you're trying to protect your lead or trying to make sure you don't lose it," Singh said. "It kind of changed the way I thought as well.... It does play some crazy things in your mind. I think Ernie was the cause of everybody dropping out because he had already posted up there and the finishing holes over here are pretty tough."

Singh, who hit the last 15 greens in regulation, was the only other golfer that got to 10-under — with birdies on 9, 10 and 11 — and stayed. He won it with a birdie on the 72nd hole.

Singh, 1-over on the 18th the first three days, hit a huge drive on the par-5, 551-yard hole. He knocked the ball on the green from 216 yards out with his 5-wood and two-putted from 34 feet for the win.

Els, trailing third-round leader Shigeki Maruyama by eight going into the final round, blew by everybody else. He closed birdie-birdie-eagle, then waited precisely an hour before Singh denied him an unprecedented third consecutive championship at Waialae.

"I almost got something out of it," said Els, who was so frustrated on the greens early in the week that he changed putters Saturday. "It would have been great to come from eight behind or something and make a playoff. But I don't think that will happen too often — guys coming from so far behind and winning."

Singh, who won $864,000, and Els said they let last week's Mercedes Championships get away with one bad swing. They left that to others yesterday.

Els' only regret was his slow start in the strange southern winds that whipped Waialae into tough shape the first three days. It was still difficult, and uncomfortably humid, yesterday, but Els was almost impeccable. The "almost" cost him — his two bogeys were the difference between first and second. He still has five top-five finishes here in as many tries.

"I had a really good time today," said Els, who needed just 22 putts — seven fewer than any other day. "But I always felt I was going to be just a little shy because when the leader tees off at 10-under, you would think 12-under would be the number. But I still had a great day."

Singh finished at 11-under 269 to win for the seventh time in his last 11 starts. Maruyama's 71 was good for a third-place tie with Charles Howell (67) at 271. Stewart Cink (65), ranked 10th in the world, tied for fifth with Brett Quigley (71), another shot back.

Shigeki Maruyama, of Japan, wasn't flashing his usual smile after missing his birdie putt on the 7th hole during the final round. Maruyama started the round with a one-shot lead but finished tied for third after a 1-over-par 71. He shot a four-round 271, two strokes behind winner Vijay Singh.

Matt York • Associated Press

Maruyama was the only other golfer to reach 11-under, when he birdied the 10th. He gave that back with bogey on the 12th. For much of the back nine he, Singh, Els and Quigley shared first at 10-under. Robert Gamez, whose only two tour championships came 15 years ago, made a cameo appearance, but bogeyed four straight back-nine holes to fall to ninth.

Ultimately, Maruyama was the only one with a chance to catch Singh. He and Quigley, playing in the final group, bogeyed the 14th to fall to 9-under. Quigley dropped another shot on the 17th.

Maruyama, needing eagle at the 18th, drove into a bunker and punched out to the fairway. When he failed to hole out with his sand wedge from 92 yards, Singh could finally stop hitting balls in preparation for a playoff. He had played Waialae long enough to remember Isao Aoki's "miracle eagle" out of the rough to win the 1983 Hawaiian Open.

"To make eagle on 18 is a tall order," Singh said. "But Aoki did that against (Jack) Renner and Maruyama ... you never know."

Singh has shot in the 60s his last 10 rounds at Waialae, but this is his first victory here in nine tries, an eighth-place finish in 1996 being next-best.

Even if he didn't win, Singh said he would have kept coming back.

"I like it, it feels like home," the Fijian said. "I love the weather here. If I had to move and I wasn't playing golf tournaments, this is a place I'd like to come and live. You can't beat this weather, the people are friendly. And, hey, it's Hawai'i."

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043.