Vijay Singh is master at Augusta

AUGUSTA, APRIL 10. Fiji's Vijay Singh overcame two back-nine mistakes with magnificent putts to win the 64th Masters here on Sunday, capturing his second major golf title.

A birdie on the 18th hole gave Singh a final-round three-under par 69 and a 72-hole score of 10-under par 278, three shots better than runner-up Ernie Els of South Africa and four ahead of Americans Loren Roberts and David Duval.

``Winning it, I can't believe it,'' Singh said. ``It's unbelievable. It hasn't sunk in yet. It's going to take some time.''

Singh won $828,000 at the $4.6 million event, the year's first major tournament, and the green jacket symbolic of triumph at the Augusta National Golf Club.

``It feels great,'' he said. ``It's the greatest feeling I have had for a long, long time. I can't describe it. Wearing the green jacket feels wonderful. I just love the colour green.''

Singh, 37, won his first major crown at the 1998 PGA championship and could be in line for another in June at the U.S. Open. That event will be at Pebble Beach, where Singh finished second to Tiger Woods at a February PGA event.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Els settled for second, his best Masters finish. His bogey-free 68 was the day's low round, but his birdies at par-5 8th, 13th and 15th were matched by Singh.

``I don't remember playing this well at Augusta ever,'' Els said. ``Coming in 16, 17 and 18 I was trying to push hard. I knew I had to birdie but I couldn't get it on line. It wasn't to be for me this week. Maybe next year.''

Two strokes ahead of Duval with eight holes to go, Singh blundered entering `Amen Corner' by going for a difficult pin over water at the par-4 11th and saw his ball splash into the pond guarding the green, leading to a bogey and one-shot lead.

Singh also found a bunker at the par-3 12th but salvaged a par and then saw Duval send his approach at the par-5 13th into `Rae's Creek'. When Duval took a bogey, Singh birdied and his three-shot edge was back for the first time since the second hole.

Els, hoping this was his lucky day after a friend won $2 million in the South African lottery, birdied the par-5 15th to move within two of Singh and hit to 12 feet on the par-3 16th.

As the cheer echo died down, Singh responded on the 15th fairway with a magnificent approach and birdied to reclaim his three- stroke margin.

Singh blew a six-foot par putt at the par-3 16th to keep Els and final pair partner Duval two shots back, but would not choke away a championship. ``The key was hitting my second shot onto the green at 18,'' he said. ``Once I hit the green, I knew I could two-putt from there. That was pretty special.''

Duval, a 28-year-old American who has never won a major and has not captured any title in the past 12 months, was one stroke back before sending his second into Rae's Creek. A birdie at 15th kept him in contention late but he missed on an approach trying to set up a birdie chance, swinging his club in anger after the shot, and finished with a bogey.

Singh and Duval were among eight who ended round three due to an earlier storm. Duval missed a birdie putt on the early trip to 17, while Singh hit a 15-foot putt to save par and keep his three-stroke edge into round four.

Duval sank birdies on the sixth, eighth and 10th holes to briefly match Singh for the lead. But each time, and from similar lengths, Singh topped him to reclaim sole possession of the lead, which he kept the entire back nine.

Roberts, dubbed `Boss of the moss' for his putting prowess, opened with a 45-foot birdie and finished the front nine with back-to-back birdies, the latter curling off a sidehill from 25 feet.

Bogeys at the 10th and 11th dimmed his dream of becoming, at 44, the oldest first-time major winner since PGA winner Jerry Barber in 1961. He answered with birdies at the 13th and 14th but parred in and never produced a serious threat.

World No. 1 Tiger Woods began six strokes behind Singh, took a run at the lead, but settled for fifth at 284, one stroke ahead of Tom Lehman and two ahead of Davis Love, Phil Mickelson and Paraguay's Carlos Franco.

Woods had trimmed his deficit in half after eight holes but settled for six pars in a row after that and never came nearer the lead.

``For some reason the golfing gods weren't looking down on me the right way this week,'' Woods said. ``I got off to an ideal start. I was right in the ball game. I felt if I could keep going along, if I could post 8- or 9-under I could win. But it wasn't meant to be. I'm disappointed I didn't win. But I'm pleased I gave myself a chance,'' he said.

- AFP

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