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First Major for the Man From Fiji
Vijay Singh advances an improbable journey with a gutsy victory at Sahalee
The boy stood in the shade of a mango tree, hitting shot after shot into the tropical breezes of the South Pacific, searching for a swing, searching for something to dream about.
More than 20 years later, the man stood in the shade of the huge evergreens of the Pacific Northwest, having found a swing, having achieved a dream.
When Vijay Singh raised his hands in triumph after winning the PGA Championship last August, it was a further milestone in a long and improbable journey from Fiji through southeast Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe and the United States. The boy from Fiji had become the man of the moment in winning his first major champion-ship at the Sahalee Country Club in suburban Seattle.
“Something like this, I couldn’t even dream about when I was a boy,” said Singh, who became the 10th player in 11 years to make the PGA his first major victory.
The championship held special interest because Mark O’Meara, winner of the Masters in April and the British Open in July, was trying for his third major of the year, something that had not been achieved since Ben Hogan’s famed “Triple Crown” of 1953. O’Meara made a game effort of it, finishing in a tie for fourth. Steve Elkington, the 1995 PGA champion, also made a late run. But, at the end, it came down to match-play between the members of the final pairing of the day - Singh and Steve Stricker, who began the fourth round tied for the lead.
At the suggestion of his wife, Ardena, Singh had gone to putting cross-handed at the Western Open. Rolling the ball had always been the weakest part of his game, and Ardena had recalled that Singh had putted cross-handed when he first started playing the game as a boy. With more confidence on the greens, Singh still had to negotiate Sahalee’s famous trees, the huge firs and spruces and cedars that give the course its teeth.
In the final round, Singh had gotten ahead of Stricker by two shots at the turn. He then got a huge break on the par-5 11th hole, where the green sits at the end of a narrow alley defined by huge trees. Singh went for the green in two but pushed his three-wood to the right, where it hit a tree then took a
member’s bounce, coming back to the left and onto the green. Stricker hit a great third shot from 90 yards out to set up a birdie, which was then matched by Singh with a two-putt from 25 feet.
After Singh made bogey on the 12th hole, his advantage was down to one shot. At the 14th, he hooked his tee shot deep into the trees left, but found an opening and got the ball out cleanly with a hooded wedge, the shot trickling onto the front of the green. A two-putt par preserved his one-shot advantage.
Because he had been having difficulty with his tee shots all day, Singh was contemplating hitting a 2-iron on the shortish par-four 15th hole, but his caddie, Dave Renwick, wasn’t in favor of such a conservative play. Renwick had been a steadying influence on Singh during the week, and now he encouraged his man to take the bold route, especially after Stricker had hit a long-iron in play. “He told me I could do it, so I didn’t take out the 2-iron,” said Singh. “He is a very confident caddie and that helped me be a confident player.” After Stricker had hit a superb 7-iron to 18 inches, Singh put a pitching-wedge eight feet from the hole and matched his opponent’s birdie.
On the long par-three 17th, both players hit their tee shots long into a bunker. Conscious of the water fronting the green, both played tentatively from the sand, Singh’s shot stopping 12 feet short, Stricker’s a foot inside of him. Singh put his best cross-handed stroke on the ball and it fell into the cup for a precious par. After Stricker missed his putt and made bogey, Singh played the 72nd hole with a two-shot lead, his final margin of victory. The Fijian’s total for four rounds was 271, nine under par, with scores of 70-66-67_68.
In the Hindi language, Vijay’s name means victory. It’s a common Indian name for an uncommon man, a name that’s now engraved on the Wanamaker Trophy as the 1998 PGA champion.
“You Have to Overcome Hardships in this Game to Succeed”
Vijay Singh reflects on his PGA victory and the sometimes rocky road that got him there
When did you first think about winning major tournaments?
“When I first came to America it never really crossed my mind that I was going to win a major. I always said that, if I didn’t win a major in my career, I’d be okay. Just go out there and play your best, and if you don’t win a major, that’s fine. The last two years, when I did come close, it did cross my mind that I was good enough to do it. Once I won last year, my attitude totally changed. I thought it was never going to happen, I would just go on playing tournaments and making a living. But now I’m looking forward to playing in every major there is. Once you’ve won one, you know you can do it.”
How important has your wife, Ardena, been to your success?
“She used to caddie for me when I first went to Europe. And she would walk every single round of golf I played, until I got a regular caddie, when I got on the PGA Tour. She’s watched my golf swing ever since I turned pro. She’s always my coach when I go home. She’ll be out there watching me every time I go out. She’ll video my golf swing. She writes down what we talk about, and all the things that go through my mind about playing the game, all the things you would forget after a few weeks if it wasn’t noted down. She writes it down, then, when I have a problem, she says, ‘Listen, why don’t you do this. We talked about it on the range.’ Most of the credit for my success has to go to her.”
You switched to cross-handed putting a few weeks before going to Sahalee. Did your wife suggest that?
“Yes, she did. Putting has sometimes been the weak part of my game. My wife remembered that, as a boy, I started out putting cross-handed. As a pro I’d tried a lot of different putters and some different stances and techniques. She thought maybe I should try to putt the way I did way back. It felt strange at first, but, because I did it when I was young, it came back to me pretty fast. I started to putt a lot better, and you have to do that to win majors.”
How important was your caddie, Dave Renwick, in achieving your PGA victory?
“Dave is a very confident caddie, and he’s caddied in a lot more majors than I’ve won - he keeps reminding me of that! He just kept telling me not to worry when I would hit a bad shot, that I would hit a good one to make up for it. [The final round] I was on the 15th tee and was thinking about hitting a 2-iron. I hadn’t been hitting the driver all that well. Dave said, go ahead, hit the driver, you can do it. I hit a good drive and birdied the hole. His confidence in me helped me a lot.”
Does it seem like a dream, coming from Fiji, to be playing on the PGA Tour?
“Yes, it certainly does seem like that sometimes. But I think all I went through early in my career eventually helped me to get to the Tour. There were some hardships, but nothing I didn’t overcome. You have to overcome hardships in this game to succeed. I’ve probably succeeded more than I would have ever thought when I first became a professional.”
You were a club pro in Borneo in the 1980s, where you won a big bet, something like $700, from someone when you had hardly any money. How did that happen?
“That was quite something. I could have lost the $700 ... We were playing the last hole, a par 5, and I hit my tee shot in the water. Then I hit the green in two with my second ball and made the putt for a par. My opponent hit a shot in the water and made double-bogey and I won. I didn’t tell my wife about it!”
You have the reputation of practicing the most of any player on tour. Why do you practice so much, and, since you’ve become so successful, have you cut back?
“I’ve cut back a little, yes. I’ve always enjoyed practicing, just hitting golf balls and seeing what I could do with them. I think my swing depends a lot on rhythm, and, if I’m not practicing, I lose that rhythm. I used to practice a lot after I played, but I don’t do that quite as much now, especially if my wife and son are with me.”
Have you set higher goals since winning the PGA?
“I would like to win more majors for sure. But you can only try your best and be happy with that.”
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