MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / April 11, 2000

It’s amazing where dedication and a lot of hard work will get you.

For Vijay Singh, it got him a green jacket and a place in golf lore Sunday.

If a poll was taken among PGA Tour players on who was the hardest working player on the tour, it’s a safe bet to say that Singh would win in a landslide.

Of course, when one has played on minor tours on five different continents, working hard comes naturally. All those days of hitting golfballs into the night paid off Sunday when some of the top golfers made a run at Singh only to come up short.

There was Tiger Woods, the pre-tournament favorite and consensus No. 1player in the world. Woods opened the tournament with a 75 but as he hasproved time and time again, it’s foolish to ever count him out of a tournament. A 68 Saturday put him into contention going into the final day.But uncharacteristically, Woods struggled on the back nine. Putt after puttslid by the hole, costing him the eagles and birdies he needed to make a final charge. By the 15th hole, Woods was a beaten man and he showed it.David Duval was the next to make a charge. Once one of the hottest golfersin the game, Duval has now gone through a year-long drought. He may alsohold the title as the Best Player to Have Never Won a Major. That lookedlike it might change as Duval and Singh, playing in the last group, entered Amen Corner.

But Singh showed the stuff that has made him a rookie of the year on the tour and a past PGA Champion. After snapping a hook into Rae’s Creek onhis second shot on the 11th, Singh chipped to within two feet, holing his putt to salvage a bogey. On the par-3 12th, Singh again missed the green,landing his tee shot into the greenside bunker. Again, he was able to chipclose to the pin, saving par. Instead of losing three or more strokes to thefield, Singh lost only one. A hole later, Duval hit into the water on 13,literally and figuratively drowning his hopes at a comeback.

That effectively left only one challenger, former U.S. Open champion ErnieEls. But like Woods, Els’ putter let him down. Three times on the finalthree holes, Els had putts to put the pressure on Singh. All three times hemissed. All that was left was for Singh to avoid a Jean Van de Velde-typefade on the last hole. He did just that, sinking a birdie putt to claim hissecond major and first green jacket.

Of course, Singh was probably right back on the range Monday morning.

That was the place, after all, where his dream began.

While we are on the subject of golf, I would like to say good luck to Bob Hasbrouck, the Head Pro at Belle Terre, and his family. For the past threeyears, they have been a tremendous help time and time again. Fairways andgreens, my friend.

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