Vijay Singh easing his way onto senior tour
Even though he became eligible for the PGA Tour Champions upon turning 50 more than three years ago, Vijay Singh has chosen to remain primarily on the PGA Tour competing against players who are younger and can hit 300-yard drives as a matter of routine.
Even though he became eligible for the PGA Tour Champions upon turning 50 more than three years ago, Vijay Singh has chosen to remain primarily on the PGA Tour competing against players who are younger and can hit 300-yard drives as a matter of routine.
Since reaching the age milestone, Singh, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, has played in 82 PGA Tour events and just eight Champions tournaments, with No. 8 happening this week at the Constellation Senior Players Championship at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.
Singh opened Thursday with a 1-under-par 69, 1 stroke off the lead. He said afterward he has adopted a different approach than in his other senior events, where he felt pressure to win because the courses were shorter than on the PGA Tour.
"I think the last three or four events when I came over here, I kind of put too much pressure on myself that I have to win," he said. "I just came this week to have a good time and enjoy it and play good golf.
"To me, I think I'm supposed to win here, which is the wrong thing to say but that's the way I feel. Coming over here the golf courses aren't as long and you get a lot of birdie opportunities. If I play the way I know how, I'm going to have a good chance to be in contention every week. So it's kind of what my mind-set is. This week I'm just going to enjoy it, and see what happens."
Singh, of Fiji, has compiled an excellent record. He has won 34 career tournaments and more than $69.7 million in prize money, a total that ranks behind only Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. He has won three majors – the 1998 and 2004 PGA Championships and the 2000 Masters – and has won the tour money title three times.
While he hasn't enjoyed as much success this year on the PGA Tour, with just one top 10 in 15 starts, he still has a strict workout routine and puts in his time on the range, although not as much as when he was younger.
"It's working out, eating correctly, keeping your weight down, practicing, working hard," he said. "Staying away from a lot of injuries I think is the key. The last few years the injuries kind of showed up without any reason. My [right] elbow showed up two weeks ago and it's been killing me ever since."
Singh, who wore a sleeve on the elbow, notched three birdies on the sunny, windy day. He almost aced the short par-3 14th, burning the lip with his tee shot. He hit 12 fairways and 16 greens and held a share of the lead until a 3-putt bogey at 18.
"It was a lot of crosswinds," he said. "I played pretty good. I kept the ball in play most of the day. Unfortunately, I had two 3-putts but that was pretty easy to do out there."
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