| Wentworth,
Surrey, 14th October 1998 -
The best year of Vijay Singh's golfing life began when he won the World Matchplay
title for the first time in five attempts at Wentworth 12 months ago. Singh
suffered some dark days later as his entire game declined because of shaky putting,
but he rescued it in time to enjoy a glorious summer which included his first
major success at the U.S. PGA championship at Sahalee, Seattle, in August.
To emphasise his form,
he added the Sprint International title in Colorado the following week. Now
he is back where it all began, ready to defend
the Matchplay crown
he seized by deposing three times champion Ernie Els in last year's final.
Things have certainly
happened -- unexpectedly," the Florida-based Fijian said on Tuesday. "This
is my best year ever." He
said after beating Els that a major crown was the next item on his wish list.
"You always look forward to winning a major and the PGA win came at the right
time. "I
was putting well and playing well and was very confident in my mind." Singh
conceded his game fell away after he won at Wentworth a year ago. "I
cooled off a bit and had a so-so start to the year. I was putting very poorly
and that ate into my game. Anytime I missed a green, I struggled to get up and
down because I knew if I chipped six or eight feet away it would be a tough putt."
The improvement
began at the Western Open late in June, where he finished second. "It
was the first week I played after changing my putting grip," he explained,
adding that he made the alteration after a suggestion from his wife Ardena. "I
got a lot of confidence back then." Singh
was in a virtual matchplay situation in the final round of the PGA when he and
playing partner Steve Stricker were alone in contention for the title. "It
was good to be playing with Steve. We could watch each other and see who was doing
what," said the Fijian. He
would face Stricker here on Friday if the eighth-seeded American survives an opening
battle on Thursday against Patrik Sjoland of Sweden. But
win or lose, Singh will not be too dejected. "I'm happy with what I have
done even if I don't play well to the end of the year. It has been a good year
for me. "It
has been very satisfying, after all the hard work and time spent." The
12-man field is one of the strongest in the event's 35-year history. World number
one Tiger Woods, number three Mark O'Meara and number four Els are the other seeds
with byes into the quarter-finals. Woods
and O'Meara have to forget their unexpected defeat by Spanish opponents in the
Alfred Dunhill Cup semifinals at St Andrews on Sunday, when they both lost. "The
scars aren't too bad," said O'Meara, who played four holes with Woods before
they were rained off on Tuesday. "I
could have played better on Sunday when I lost to Jose Maria (Olazabal). But I
played real well last week although needless to say it is not as much fun when
you lose." The
Masters and British Open champion and Woods both await the winners of first round
clashes involving four members of Europe's victorious 1997 Ryder Cup team. For
O'Meara, it will be Scot Colin Montgomerie or Thomas Bjorn of Denmark. Woods awaits
either Darren Clarke or 1987 and 1990 champion Ian Woosnam, a late stand-in for
injured German Bernhard Langer, himself a replacement for American Stewart Cink.
O'Meara, Woods's
close friend and mentor, said his young rival was in a good frame of mind. "He
likes it here very much. This course has yielded to a pretty long hitter the last
four times with Ernie and Vijay. "I
think Tiger is geared up and looking forward to playing." Els
wants to regain the trophy badly and took the first step by helping South Africa
retain the Alfred Dunhill Cup. "I'd
be lying if I said missing a fourth title didn't hurt," he said of his defeat
by Singh. "It
did hurt. When you have the chance to win four in a row you've got to be disappointed
when you don't make it because the chance might not come again. "At
least I've won three. Not many have," Els added. His
first opponent will be sixth-seeded Briton Lee Westwood or Stuart Appleby of Australia.
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