Vijay Singh - always gets his trophy (Getty Images).
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Mike Weir was about to become the first Canadian golfer to win his national
championship in 50 years, before Vijay Singh had other ideas.
The new number one player in the world, Singh backed up that lofty status with
a play-off victory over Weir to capture the Bell Canadian Open at Glen Abbey
Golf Club.
Singh tapped in for par on the third play-off hole, the par-five 18th,
culminating a three-shot comeback and putting a cap on an impressive string of
golf.
Aside from toppling Tiger Woods as the top-ranked golfer, Singh has won the
PGA Championship, the Deutsche Bank Championship and now the Canadian Open,
raking in more than £1.5million in the process.
As high as Singh in riding, Weir must be about as low. Playing in his native
Canada among cheering fans at every turn, Weir entered the final round with a
three-stroke lead over Singh, was up three shots after a birdie on the par-four
10th and still held a two-shot lead with three to play.
"For whatever reason, I could never get comfortable on the greens," Weir
said.
"I am disappointed, not only for myself, but obviously for everybody who was
out there supporting me. You know, I think maybe in the end I was just trying
too hard."
"I really do feel for Mike," Singh said.
"Towards the end, they were really cheering for Mike. I hope they did not get
to him, but in my mind, they must have affected him one way or another."
Singh was more steady than spectacular on the back nine, while Weir made
mistakes that ultimately cost him the tournament. He bogeyed the 11th, 13th and
16th holes and missed a birdie putt on 18 by inches to the right.
That allowed Singh, who birdied 18, another chance in a play-off.
"On this golf course anything can happen," said Singh, who improved to 5-1
in play-offs.
"If you miss one shot, you can get yourself into trouble, especially with the
rough so long."
Both golfers birdied the first extra hole, the 18th, after missing eagle
putts. After Weir missed a five-foot par putt that would have given him the
title on 17, Singh ripped a drive down the middle of the 18th fairway while Weir
found the deep rough and had to punch out into the right fairway.
With Singh laying two just off the right edge of the green, Weir lofted his
third shot to the right of the green and into the water. Singh two-putted from
four feet for par and his seventh victory of the season.
"I never one time thought I was out of it," Singh said.
"Even at 18, I thought if I can make eagle it would be great, but I have to
make birdie."
While Weir and Singh were battling for the title, Justin Rose vaulted from a
tie for 34th to a tie for fourth with an eight-under 63 as he joined Tom Lehman,
who jumped 26 spots with a seven-under 64.
Phil Mickelson didn't quite have the Ryder Cup warm-up he was looking for,
finishing tied for 57th.
Collated final totals (USA unless stated, par 71):
275 Vijay Singh (Fij) 68 66 72 69 (Vijay Singh wins on the third extra hole),
Mike Weir (Can) 68 65 70 72
277 Joe Ogilvie 70 69 69 69
278 Hunter Mahan 72 69 69 68, Stewart Cink 72 68 69 69, Justin Rose (Eng) 70
70 75 63, Tom Lehman 74 70 70 64
279 Robert Damron 72 71 70 66
280 Jesper Parnevik (Swe) 69 66 71 74, Mark Hensby (Aus) 70 69 70 71
281 Billy Andrade 67 75 71 68, DJ Brigman 67 74 67 73, David Sutherland 69 72
68 72
282 Pat Perez 68 68 78 68, David Branshaw 71 65 75 71, Dean Wilson 71 70 69
72, Cliff Kresge 69 70 67 76, Steve Lowery 70 69 70 73
283 Kenny Perry 71 67 74 71, Glen Day 70 69 70 74, Jose Coceres (Arg) 72 70 74
67, Arjun Atwal (Ind) 71 67 75 70, Bill Haas 71 71 67 74
284 Chris DiMarco 69 71 73 71, Casey Wittenberg 73 72 71 68
285 David Peoples 69 70 73 73, Corey Pavin 73 70 72 70, Chad Campbell 73 68 72
72, Joey Sindelar 66 73 74 72, Bob Tway 74 71 70 70, Roland Thatcher 72 72 71
70, Craig Barlow 67 69 75 74, Craig Perks (Nzl) 70 72 75 68, Bill Glasson 72 70
73 70, Brett Quigley 69 71 73 72
286 David Edwards 72 69 74 71, Richard S Johnson (Swe) 73 70 71 72, Roger
Tambellini 71 71 69 75, Dudley Hart 72 73 73 68
287 Greg Chalmers (Aus) 71 72 70 74, David Frost (Rsa) 73 71 71 72, Jason Bohn
73 70 72 72, Davis Love III 72 73 68 74
288 Jonathan Byrd 72 70 69 77, Esteban Toledo (Mex) 76 68 72 72, Tommy Tolles
72 70 78 68
289 Tim Petrovic 72 70 73 74, Jim Rutledge (Can) 74 71 75 69, Mark Wilson 74
70 71 74, Fred Funk 74 70 72 73, Mark Brooks 69 73 76 71
290 Tag Ridings 68 76 72 74, Omar Uresti 74 70 74 72, David Duval 71 72 76 71,
Steve Flesch 73 71 75 71, Todd Fischer 71 71 75 73
291 Phil Mickelson 75 69 79 68, Billy Mayfair 70 74 72 75, Neal Lancaster 71
70 75 75, Jim McGovern 71 72 76 72
292 Tom Carter 72 71 76 73, Dennis Paulson 69 72 75 76, Paul Azinger 72 68 74
78, Garrett Willis 71 74 75 72, Brian Kortan 71 74 70 77
293 Justin Leonard 76 66 77 74, Dan Briggs 69 73 77 74, Jim Carter 72 69 78
74, Aaron Barber 72 73 75 73
294 Grant Waite (Nzl) 75 70 73 76, Dicky Pride 72 72 77 73, David Morland IV
(Can) 70 73 73 78, Larry Mize 76 68 74 76
295 John Rollins 74 71 74 76, Dirk Ayers 72 71 79 73, Kevin Sutherland 74 71
75 75
296 Andre Stolz (Aus) 71 74 77 74
304 Chris Couch 71 71 79 83
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