Singh wins rain-delayed tourney; Tiger finishes
5-over
By RUSTY MILLER AP Sports Writer
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) - Vijay Singh's first swing of the day set
up an eagle tap-in for a two-stroke lead and an eventual two-stroke
victory in the rain-shortened Memorial Tournament today.
Singh fired a 5-under-par 67 in the third and final round and
he finished with a 202 total.
Finally, after three days of heavy rain and several suspensions
of play, Singh was able to claim his first tour victory in two
years and marked his first top-10 finish in 10 starts this season.
The win as worth $342,000 - more than double what he had made
so far in PGA events this year.
Greg Norman and Jim Furyk tied for second at 204.
Norman's closing effort, an 8-under-par 64 - stretched over
three days and 51 hours - matched the tournament's third-round
record.
Furyk finished with a 67.
The tournament was cut to 54 holes after more than 4 inches
of rain hit Muirfield Village Golf Club on Saturday and Sunday.
Play was suspended Sunday afternoon after co-leaders Singh and
Scott Hoch had hit their tee shots at the 539-yard, par-5 11th
hole.
Singh's first shot today, a long iron from the middle of the
fairway, came to rest a foot away from the hole on the rain-beaten
green.
He turned to a sparse gallery and pumped his arms, smiled and
waved before tapping in the eagle putt to get to 14-under for
a two-stroke lead over Hoch.
Hoch hurt his back on his first swing, pushing an iron right
of the green from where he had to take a drop. He parred the hole,
but winced on every swing and every time he bent over to pick
up his ball the rest of the way.
Norman stretched his birdie string to five in a row with a
two-putt birdie on the par-5 15th to start his day. He narrowly
missed a long birdie putt at the 16th, then lipped out a 10-foot
birdie try at 17 before scraping the cup on a long birdie putt
on the closing hole.
"I saw he had eagled it, but I thought he had holed his
third shot," Norman said of Singh. "I didn't realize
he had hit it that far down there with his driver."
Norman said a soggy course was the perfect place for a player
such as Singh.
"He's extremely long off the tee. Under these conditions,
he's hitting 7-iron or 8-iron while some guys are hitting 4- or
5-iron," Norman said. "His length is a big advantage
under these conditions."
Singh nearly lost his lead at the 14th, which could have been
a disaster if debris from a flooded creek had not prevented his
drive from going into the hazard. He was able to punch out short
of the green, then chipped up to 5 feet and hit the par putt while
Hoch was birdieing to cut the gap to a shot.
Hoch rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt at the 15th to temporarily
tie for the lead. But Singh - putting last and playing in the
same pairing - came right back with a 4-foot birdie putt seconds
later to retain his one-shot lead.
Singh all but locked up the victory when Hoch found a greenside
bunker with his tee shot on the par-3 16th and failed to get out
with his next shot. He settled for a double-bogey.
Hoch faded to a 73 that left him at 11-under 205 along with
Tommy Tolles and Lee Janzen. Frank Nobilo's 68 left him at 10-under.
Jack Nicklaus, the 57-year-old designer of the Muirfield Village
course, continued his strong play with two birdies down the stretch
to complete a 69. He finished at 8-under-par 208, tied for eighth
along with Tim Herron.
Masters champion Tiger Woods finished at 5-over 221 after a
third-round 74 that included a quintuple-bogey 9 on his 12th hole.
John Daly, making his first appearance in a tour even since
his second stint in alcohol rehab, finished last among those players
making the cut. He shot an 80 in the closing round for a 227,
last in the field.
|
