Singh wins Deutsche Bank, his 2nd straight victory

[September 02, 2008]  NORTON, Mass. (AP) -- Another victory for Vijay Singh is turning the FedEx Cup into another snoozer. Singh made three long birdie putts and closed with an 8-under 63 to win the Deutsche Bank Championship on Monday for his second straight victory in the PGA Tour's playoff system.

That gave him such a big lead that he could win the $10 million prize without even showing up at the Tour Championship.

Attribute this to the power of positive thinking.

Singh, who has long struggled with the putter, convinced himself last week that he was the best putter in golf when he won The Barclays in a three-man playoff.

He made a few more believers on Labor Day at the TPC Boston.

Singh rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole to stretch his lead to three shots, then raised the belly putter like a trophy when he holed a 60-foot birdie putt on the next hole. He capped off his amazing run with a 35-foot birdie on the 17th hole.

Any doubters?

"It's nice to see them going in," Singh said. "When they start going in, they believe it."

Weir, who had a one-shot lead until a double bogey on the ninth hole, simply couldn't keep up. He closed with a 71 to finish five shots behind, dropping his record to 1-9 on the PGA Tour when he has at least a share of the 54-hole lead.

Singh finished at 22-under 262 to break the tournament record by two shots in the six years of this event. It was his third victory in the past five weeks, after going through his longest drought in six years, and it should be enough to move him up to No. 3 in the world ranking.

"He played amazing. It was awesome," said Sergio Garcia, who was paired with Singh and closed with a 72. "I don't think you guys are going to realize how good that was, because you're aren't playing and you don't know how tough the course was playing. When Vijay plays like that, it's hard to beat him.

"It's like when Tiger plays well," he said. "You want to beat him, but it's good to watch. You're watching history."

The victory meant that after more than two months with Tiger Woods sidelined by season-ending knee surgery, someone finally toppled him on the PGA Tour money list. Singh, who collected his 34th career victory, moved to No. 1 on the list with $1.26 million in earnings.

But there is one comparison with Woods that the PGA Tour could do without.

Just as Woods destroyed the competition in the first year of the FedEx Cup finale, Singh is headed in the same direction and could turn the Tour Championship into merely an exhibition.

Singh has 120,500 points, giving him a 12,225-point lead over Garcia, who tied for fifth. That means Singh is assured of having the lead going into the Tour Championship, and another top finish might be enough to wrap up the title if none of the guys immediately behind him win in St. Louis next week.

"I'm going to go out and play really hard," Singh said. "If I have another win, it will be icing on the cake. But I don't take anything for granted."

Ernie Els flew too many greens and made too many bogeys to make a charge, closing with a 70 to tie for third with Camilo Villegas, who shot a 73.

This was the final tournament before U.S. captain Paul Azinger makes four picks to fill out his Ryder Cup team, and his job didn't get any easier.

The top American was Tim Herron, who shot 65 and tied for fifth with Garcia at 13-under 271. It was the first top 10 for Herron all year. Chad Campbell made a late push with a 69-66 weekend in the toughest conditions of the tournament to tie for seventh with Justin Leonard (67) and Jim Furyk (72), who already have qualified.

Azinger will announce his picks Tuesday morning in New York.

Too bad he can't claim Singh, a good friend, as an American.

The big Fijian was simply unbeatable in winning the Deutsche Bank Championship for the second time in four years, and winning consecutive times for the first time since 2004. Along with making the three birdie putts a combined 130 feet long, Singh chipped in for eagle from 30 feet on the second hole.

Weir remained in control with two birdies, but he came undone when his approach to the par-4 ninth sailed left into thick rough. He chipped over the firm green, chipped 15 feet past the hole to the fringe and made double bogey.

The Canadian also made bogey from the rough on No. 12, and by then, it was a runaway.

Herron's biggest week also allowed him to keep playing. The top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings advance to the third round of the playoffs in St. Louis this week at the BMW Championship. Herron started the week at No. 99, but his tie for fifth moved him all the way up to No. 48.

Former U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera shot a 71 and claimed the 70th spot by 121 points over Pat Perez.

Among those who failed to advance was Sean O'Hair, who was 16th when the playoffs began but missed two cuts and fell to No. 75. Also done for the PGA Tour season is Paul Casey, a captain's pick for Europe's Ryder Cup team.

Bill Haas was poised to keep playing until he closed with a 79 and missed by 209 points.

There's a much larger gap at the top, where Singh is in clear control.

[Associated Press; By DOUG FERGUSON]

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.