Singh finds range on short putts, wins Bridgestone

[August 04, 2008]  AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- After hitting his golf ball more than 17 miles over four days at Firestone Country Club, Vijay Singh agonized over the final 42 inches.

Singh had a shaky grasp on a one-shot lead at the Bridgestone Invitational as he bent over the 3-foot, 6-inch par putt on the 18th green, circled by thousands of fans and with Stuart Appleby and Lee Westwood watching to see if they'd sneak into a playoff with a miss.

But the 45-year-old Singh -- who according to tour statistics had hit just eight of his 18 putts in the tournament between 4 and 8 feet -- cast aside his troubling case of flat-stick nerves and gingerly nudged the ball in the side of the cup for a one-shot victory.

"I don't know why I left myself a 4-footer," the usually dour Singh cracked.

He missed three putts shorter than Yao Ming on the back nine, providing an open door for Phil Mickelson among others to walk up and grab the $1.35 million first-place check. But either they were fighting their own self-induced problems or waited too long to try to catch Singh, who ended a streak of 34 PGA Tour events without a win.

Singh's 68 left him at 10-under 270. Appleby shot a 68 that featured birdies on two of the last holes and Westwood had a 69 but was 1-over on the last five holes.

Mickelson frittered away a prime shot at winning.

He led by a shot with four holes to go but had three bogeys down the stretch, each time failing to get up and down out of bunkers. Mickelson, whose 70 left him tied for fourth with Retief Goosen (67), strained to find the positives in his day.

"I hit a lot of good shots, a lot of good putts," he said. "But, you know, I'm turning 63s and 64s into 70s, and that's kind of what happened today."

Mickelson's late collapse helped Singh grab his first win on U.S. soil since the Arnold Palmer Invitational 16 months ago. He had led after three rounds at Pebble Beach and Bay Hill this year but hadn't won.

His first WGC win will likely move him to No. 4 in the world heading into next week's PGA Championship at Oakland Hills. It was his 20th win since turning 40 -- the most by any PGA Tour player in his fifth decade.

He scoffed at the thought that he might appreciate this victory more because of his age.

Asked if he felt 10 years younger, he laughed and said, "Ten? I always feel 10 years younger. Now I feel 20 years younger."

He added, "I'm not worried about being 40 or 45 or even next year, for that matter."

Playing his first U.S. tournament since the PGA Championship last year, Darren Clarke closed with a 67 to tie for sixth with Peter Lonard (66).

Singh, Westwood and Mickelson were tied for the top spot before Singh reeled off birdies on three of the first four holes and four of the first six.

Meanwhile, the rest of the contenders were struggling.

Westwood fell five shots back of Singh with an ugly double bogey on the par-3 seventh, taking two shots to get out of a greenside bunker.

Appleby was not a factor early, failing to birdie until the 11th hole. Goosen, who began the day three shots back of co-leaders Singh, Mickelson and Westwood, posted two early birdies and then played the next 12 at even-par.

But when Singh wasn't staking iron shots, he was missing short putts to bring everybody back into contention. At 11 he three-putted from the fringe, missing a 6-footer for par. He missed a short putt at 13 for another bogey and looked jittery over a couple more that he made.

After Mickelson's game went south down the stretch, Appleby's birdies at Nos. 16 and 17 left him with an 18-footer at the closing hole to catch Singh. With Singh waiting to hit his approach from the fairway, Appleby started it on line.

"I thought it was very makable considering its length," Appleby said. "I felt very confident, really had this feeling I was going to make it."

But it hit a spike mark and missed the hole.

Westwood, playing in the same group with Singh, righted himself and also had a 16-foot birdie putt from the left fringe at 18 that would pull him even with Singh, who still had that pesky 42-incher waiting for him.

"It moved a foot," Westwood said of his birdie attempt. "I missed it left on Thursday and I didn't learn anything and missed it left today."

In the end, it all came down to whether Singh would buckle on a short putt.

His 5-footer for birdie at 16 would have given him some room to breathe, but it was never on track and he settled for par. Then he left a 28-foot birdie putt 4 1/2 short at 17 but coaxed in the par putt.

At the final hole, his drive cut the heart of the fairway and his 135-yard approach ended up in the middle of the green, leaving him with another long birdie putt.

"I had a good line and I said, 'Just cozy it down there. If it goes in, fine; don't leave yourself a 4-footer,'" Singh said. "So I left myself a 4-footer."

Because he had putting problems in recent months, he used some of his legendary work ethic on practicing them. He relied on that muscle memory at the finish.

"I've been practicing 4- and 5-footers all last week and at the end of the day it pays off," he said. "And at 17 and 18, it showed up. I told myself, 'Just like home. Go ahead and make the stroke.' And (they) went in."

[Associated Press; By RUSTY MILLER]

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