All that hard work finally paid off yesterday for Vijay Singh, who shot the best round of his PGA Tour career and put himself in position to end another streak by Tiger Woods at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Mass.

Singh played his first five holes in 5 under par, then finished with three straight birdies for a 10-under 61 to set the course record at the TPC of Boston and build a three-shot lead over Woods, who shot 67.

Two years ago, Singh went toe-to-toe with Woods in the final round on Labor Day and beat him by three shots to rise to No. 1, ending Woods' record 264 consecutive weeks atop the world ranking.

Woods now has won four straight times on the PGA Tour, and Singh is poised to end that streak.

"To me, it's almost unbelievable," Singh said. "The way I've been playing, and not really happy with the way I've been scoring, and all of a sudden this shows up."

ELSEWHERE

LPGA Tour: Annika Sorenstam went on a run that took her all the way to an LPGA record and a victory at the State Farm Classic in Springfield, Ill.

Down five strokes at the start of play, Sorenstam tied the LPGA record for the lowest final-round score by a tournament winner with a 62. She shot 10 under for the day to finish 19 under, two strokes ahead of Cristie Kerr (67).

Ryder Cup: Darren Clarke, who hasn't played since the British Open while coping with his wife's death, was selected for the Ryder Cup as Europe completed its team for this month's showdown with the United States.

Ian Woosnam took Clarke and Lee Westwood as his two captain's picks. Paul McGinley and Jose Maria Olazabal qualified for the European team after the BMW International Open. The matches will be Sept. 22-24 at The K Club in Ireland