Resurgent Singh Wins 3rd Barclays Classic

Associated Press

Published: June 11, 2006

HARRISON, N.Y. (AP) -- Vijay Singh knew he had to lighten up to play some serious golf. "Maybe I was trying too hard and putting too much pressure on trying to play well. I just thought this week, 'Just go out and play. Just play. You've worked hard enough. Now, you've got to out and play freely.'" The three-time major champion did exactly that in the Barclays Classic, patiently closing with a bogey-free 3-under 68 on Sunday to win the tournament for a record third time and end a 21-event winless streak.

"Playing the back nine, although I hit one or two bad shots, it did not bother me at all," Singh said. "I just kept right in there and kept going. I knew the holes coming in were going to be tough. You can't run away on this golf course. Every hole is a very testing hole, so you can't think ahead."

Singh, a shot behind leader Billy Andrade after the third round, took a two-stroke lead over Brett Quigley with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 218-yard 16th and also birdied the par-5 18th to finish at 10-under 274 - two strokes ahead of Adam Scott in the final event before the U.S. Open at nearby Winged Foot.

"If I keep my head straight next week, I think I'll be a big factor," Singh said. "This gives me a lot of confidence. It gives me the feeling that, `Hey, if I get in contention, I can finish it off.'"

Also the 1993 and `95 champion, Singh is the first three-time winner in the 40-year-old tournament and only the second player to win three PGA Tour titles on the Westchester course. Jack Nicklaus won the 1965 Thunderbird on the hilly, tree-lined layout and added Westchester Classic titles in 1967 and 1972.

The 43-year-old Fijian won for the first time since the Buick Open last July to raise his PGA Tour victory total to 29 and tie Sam Snead's tour record for victories over 40 with 17. Singh won after failing to finish under par in his previous three tournaments, the first time he had done that in regular PGA Tour events since 1998.

"I was never worried about a win," Singh said. "I was worried about the way I was playing. The pressure kind of mounted that way. ... My head was correct. I wasn't getting angry with my game - not letting bad shots affect me like the last few weeks."

Singh had only one birdie in the first 15 holes - a two-putt birdie on the par-5 fifth - with the wind swirling through the trees at 10-15 mph and gusting to 20-25 mph on the course about 5 miles north of Winged Foot.

"I was just making pars and keeping steady," he said.

Scott eagled the 18th - his second eagle of the day - for a 70, while Quigley shot his second straight 70 to join Andrade (72) at 7 under. Tom Pernice Jr. (67), Jeff Sluman (68), Luke Donald (70) and Fredrik Jacobson (71) tied for fifth at 6 under.

Scott holed a 30-yard pitch on the par-4 11th to take the lead at 9 under, but dropped a stroke on 13 after hitting his drive into the left rough, and three-putted the 14th from inside 5 feet to fall to 7 under. He followed with a double bogey on 16 before birdieing the 17th and holing a 25-foot eagle putt on 18.

"I saved a bit of face at the end with the birdie-eagle finish and I got second place out of it, which is better than finishing par-par and coming in 12th or something," said Scott, fourth or better in his last four PGA Tour starts.

Quigley, winless in 268 PGA Tour starts, made a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 10 to tie Singh and Scott for the lead at 8 under before falling back with a bogey on the 13th after hooking his drive into the trees. He parred the final five holes.

"I played pretty well. I hung in there," said Quigley, who began the week by winning the U.S. Open qualifier at Canoe Brook. "Normally, my strength is my putting. Not that it let me down, but I just didn't make any putts."

Pernice, playing in a threesome with Masters champion Phil Mickelson, took the lead at 8 under with a sand-save birdie on the par-5 ninth, his third straight birdie in a front-nine 30. He had three bogeys and a birdie on the back nine to finish at 6 under.

Mickelson, the winner of the last two majors, shot a 72 to finish at 1 under.

"I thought it was a good week in preparation for next week," Mickelson said. "Hopefully, come Thursday, my game will be sharp and I'll be ready to play."

Divots:@ Singh earned $1,035,000 from the $5.75 million purse. He opened with rounds of 70, 64 and 72. ... Scott's eagle putt was worth $191,667, the difference between the $621,000 he earned and the $429,333 he would have made with a three-way tie for second. ... Padraig Harrington, the 2005 champion, shot a 72 to finish 2 over.

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