Date: March 19, 2007
Author: PA Sport

Vijay takes title

Vijay Singh vowed he will be trying his hardest to create PGA Tour history after claiming his 31st tour title at Bay Hill, while Geoff Ogilvy struggled during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational to finish one-over. Forty-four year-old Sing, though, shot a final-round 67, built on the back of four birdies in five holes from the par-four fifth onwards, to finish eight under par and take the tournament by two strokes in tough conditions in Orlando. The Fijian tied “Lighthorse” Harry Cooper&aposs record for the most victories on tour by a non-American and revealed he wants to keep the winning feeling going. “I just want to keep playing and win as many as I can, hopefully a few more this year and next year. Rocco Mediate also shot a 67 to finish runner-up, a shot better than third round leader Vaughn Taylor, whose troubles this season continued with a 73. Tiger Woods started ominously with birdies at the first two holes but uncharacteristically fell apart on the back nine, limping home in 43 strokes to match his worst nine-hole score as a professional. He shot 76 and tied for 22nd at 3-over 283. Eight players were separated by just one stroke early in the final round, before Singh began his birdie blitz to quickly jump three shots clear at the turn. All Singh had to do was avoid big numbers to seal victory and that&aposs exactly what he did, bogeys at the 16th and 17th holes doing no real damage. Mediate, another 44-year-old, was the only player to put any heat on Singh on the back nine. “I missed only one fairway all day, the last one unfortunately,” he said. “It was hard. I was just trying to make pars. I wasn&apost even thinking about birdies.” Aussie Geoff Ogilvy hit a two over-72 to end the tournament one-over, while Robert Allenby had another two-over par round to finish five-over. Results from the fourth round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational: -8 Vijay Singh 70 68 67 67 -6 Rocco Mediate 66 65 76 67 -5 Vaughn Taylor 64 71 67 73 -4 Ben Curtis 68 67 69 72 -3 John Collins 69 65 72 71, Sergio Garcia 66 69 71 71, Tom Lehman 67 69 69 72 -2 Luke Donald 68 71 70 69 -1 Stephen Ames 68 67 72 72, Trevor Imelman 66 70 70 73, Jerry Kelly 67 69 70 73 Also: +2 Geoff Ogilvy (AUS) 69 70 70 72 +5 Robert Allenby AUS) 70 73 71 71 +8 Aaron Baddeley (AUS) 72 70 75 71 +8 Mark Hensby(AUS) 72 69 74 73 +8 Peter Lonard(AUS) 68 71 74 75 +8 Stuart Appleby(AUS) 70 70 73 75 +9 Steve Elkington(AUS) 70 73 73 73 Results from the fourth round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational: -8 Vijay Singh 70 68 67 67 -6 Rocco Mediate 66 65 76 67 -5 Vaughn Taylor 64 71 67 73 -4 Ben Curtis 68 67 69 72 -3 John Collins 69 65 72 71, Sergio Garcia 66 69 71 71, Tom Lehman 67 69 69 72 -2 Luke Donald 68 71 70 69 -1 Stephen Ames 68 67 72 72, Trevor Imelman 66 70 70 73, Jerry Kelly 67 69 70 73 Also: +2 Geoff Ogilvy (AUS) 69 70 70 72 +5 Robert Allenby AUS) 70 73 71 71 +8 Aaron Baddeley (AUS) 72 70 75 71 +8 Mark Hensby(AUS) 72 69 74 73 +8 Peter Lonard(AUS) 68 71 74 75 +8 Stuart Appleby(AUS) 70 70 73 75 +9 Steve Elkington(AUS) 70 73 73 73