Vijay Singh anxious to halt slide in form

Fiji's Vijay Singh on Wednesday gave a harsh assessment of himself after a year in which he has won four PGA Tour events and over $8 million in prize money.

The world number two interrupted Tiger Woods's five-year reign at the top of the rankings in a superb 2004 season but his failure to win a major this year has left a sour taste.

"On paper it looked very satisfying but I was very disappointed with the way I played the majors," Singh said ahead of the inaugural Champions Tournament, which begins on Thursday.

"I think I got complacent. I had a one-track mind last year and just nothing was going to interfere with my golf. Somewhere I lost my way," added the 2004 U.S. PGA champion.

"I kind of slowed down...and my mind wasn't as free as it was last year or the beginning of the year."

Singh is among a quality field at the Champions Tournament including Woods, U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell, U.S. PGA winner Phil Mickelson and European number one Colin Montgomerie.

The Shanghai event, the richest ever in Asia with a $5 million purse, is co-sanctioned by the European Tour, the Asian Tour, Australia's PGA Tour and the South African Sunshine Tour.

It also marks the official start of the 2006 European Tour and Singh, wants to get off on the right foot after an indifferent year by his lofty standards.

"You learn from your mistakes," shrugged the three-times major winner. "It's just like sliding down a cliff. It's so hard to climb back up...and I just don't want to slide any further than where I am now.

"But I have re-energised myself. I'm refocused. I started working out again two or three weeks ago and I'm going to start off next season as strong as I've ever been."

November 10, 2005

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