Losing No. 1 only a matter of time for Tiger
Today, there can be no argument. Attach an asterisk, because in this case the numbers lie. Vijay Singh trails by .1 in the Official World Golf Ranking system, but if you polled the players and the media, Vijay is The Man. Officially he may not be No. 1, but he is the undisputed best golfer in the world. He has done what once seemed impossible. He has overtaken Tiger Woods. It may not last long and it could last for a while. And what's so scary is it happened so fast.
Tiger's largest lead was 19.4 points over Phil Mickelson on May 20, 2001. After winning the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage for his last major championship, Woods had a comfortable cushion of 7.01 points over Mickelson, with Singh in eight place, 11.42 points behind. Following last October's American Express Championships, where he played with Singh in the final group and won his last stroke-play event, Woods had a 7.8 cushion. After 332 weeks at No. 1, it comes down to one tenth of a percentage point.
Woods and Singh ... or rather Singh and Woods. On the same week that Tiger sets the record for most consecutive weeks atop the World Ranking, Singh is celebrating his finest hour. The Fijian shoots 76 in the final round of a major and wins in a playoff. It was so ugly at times, yet it was poetically beautiful. All those times he failed to close a major, and this time 76 wins.
Tiger one-putted the last five holes to shoot 73 on Sunday at Whistling Straits, but by that time the damage was done. The putter let him down early (75 on Thursday) and 69-69 on Friday-Saturday was enough to catch up. He finished 12 groups ahead of Singh, an afterthought after the gallant sprint through the cut line on Friday.
For the second straight tournament, Singh won the stare down. On Sunday at the Buick Open it was Vijay, Tiger and John Daly contending for the title. Vijay won. On Thursday-Friday, it was the same pairing at the PGA Championship. Vijay had Tiger by nine strokes at the turn.
To make this final step to the top, Singh had to accomplish two milestones: Beat Tiger head-up and win another major. He has done both. Over the last 52 weeks he has won seven times, including a major. In that same span Tiger has won twice, both World Golf Championship events, neither one against full fields.
The question now is whether Woods can seize this moment the way Singh has. Seeing him birdie three holes coming in on Friday made everybody realize it's not the will that's lacking. When challenged, Tiger has always risen. Truth is, he needs to rise this week.
At Firestone, Woods returns to a golf course that he's conquered three times in the last four tries. The NEC Invitational will be a good measure of exactly where he stands not only with Singh, but himself. Critics of his new swing are amassing. On CBS, Lanny Wadkins said the changes should have taken hold by now.
That's what made Tiger's second-round finish so interesting. On the 16th tee that day he took triple the normal amount of practice swings, admitting later he was just trying to feel a swing that worked. He finished birdie-birdie-par to qualify for the weekend.
So it's still inside Woods and with Singh talking about five more years of this, he needs to find it soon. If Singh finishes ahead of Woods this week, he does officially become No.1.
That's what makes the remainder of 2004 worth watching. The majors are over but there are two World Golf Championship events, a marquee tournament in the Deutsche Bank and the Tour Championship.
Vijay's still hungry. Tiger has lost his edge. Counting Disney, they'll meet five times before the season is over. Every time Vijay's come close, Tiger has responded. Does he have the game to respond this week in Akron? We'll know on Sunday.
Singh has five victories, including a major. Phil Mickelson has two victories including a major, but a better overall record in the majors. Top-10s are about equal. Vijay has over a $1.3 million cushion in the money race. Mickelson has the better stroke average. Basically, Mickelson needs to win one of the two remaining WGCs and the Tour Championship. That would give him more quality wins, assuming that Singh doesn't win the remainder of the season -- which isn't likely. Mickelson was the favorite going into the PGA, but a T6 isn't going to cut it. Advantage: Singh.
Hal Sutton takes five major champions with him to Oakland Hills for the Ryder Cup. Unless it's one of his wild-card picks, Bernhard Langer will assemble a European team without a major winner since 1981. Advantage America, right? Ask Larry Brown. Europe is much more talented than the Puerto Rican Olympic basketball team.
If Herb Kohler can't get the PGA and the USGA to settle on dates to host further PGA Championships and a U.S. Open, maybe he should approach the R&A about being the first American host of the Open Championship. It may lack "Royal" status and it may be an imitation in the true sense, but Whistling Straits would rank with Muirfield and Troon among the best courses on the British Open rota.
Tim Rosaforte is a senior writer for Golf World magazine
