By Rahul Banerji
Vijay Singh of Fiji turned back the clock with a vintage display of controlled golf that almost took him to the top of the leader board after day three of the $6.8 million Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens in Florida on Saturday.
The 56-year-old, whose pre-season strength training clips on Twitter and Instagram caught worldwide attention was one shot off the lead behind tour newbie Wyndham Clark on 6-under par 204 with a solid 5-under round while Clark shot a 3-under to sit on a 203 aggregate with a day to go.
Even as the top battle was unfolding, Anirban Lahiri returned a 1-over 72 that saw him drop to tied 19th and after rounds of 67 and 70 on first two days, he is now 2-under in what has been a low-scoring week.
Record bid
Vijay Singh – in seeking to become the oldest ever winner on the PGA Tour – is tied with Korean Kyoung-Hoon Lee (68) and Keith Mitchell (70). Rickie Fowler, who has one win this season, is fifth at 5-under.
“I’m physically quite capable of doing it,” Vijay said after his Saturday round. “Mentally, I’m going to go out there and see how my mind works. If I just don’t let anything interfere, I think I can do it.
“Playing the Champions Tour, you’ve got to make a lot of birdies. It’s all about making a lot of putts, a lot of birdies there. That brings, I guess, aggression out of you, and you go out there and you know you have to make birdies.
“It’s just like the Web kids coming over here. They feel the same way – they’re going to make a ton of birdies. I think anything I take away, it’s that.”
Added Clark, “It’s just fun being in contention. I love the moment. I love playing in front of fans and I love to win. So I want to be there on Sundays, and the fact that I am is great.”
Drop in consistency
Lahiri hit 10 of 14 fairways but he did not find as many greens in regulation as in the first two days, reaching only seven out of 18.
On Sunday, the lead group will have Vijay, who turned pro long before Clark was even born, alongside the latter and in search of a first PGA Tour win since 2008. That year he won two back-to-back events in the play-offs to seal the FedExCup title.
If Vijay wins, he will break Sam Snead’s record of winning at 52 years, 10 months, 8 days at the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open. Just six other players have won PGA Tour events in their 50s, the most recent being Davis Love III, who was 51 when he won the Wyndham Championship in 2015.
Sandhu finishes T23 at Kiwi Open
In Queenstown, Ajeetesh Sandhu hit a 6-under 66 on force shared 23rd place finish at the 100th edition of the New Zealand Open on Sunday even as Australia’s Zach Murray claimed his maiden professional title.
Murray managed to hold on to the lead despite a bogey on the final hole to total 21-under 266, winning by two shots over Ashley Hall (65) and Joshy Geary (69).
Shiv Kapur, who started the day tied 13th slipped early before making amends towards the end of his round for a level par 72 and tied 33rd place while S. Chikkarangappa (70) ended four places higher.
Two eagles on the back-9 saw Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond shoot up the leader board with an 8-under 64, finishing 18-under the card for outright fourth place in the 23-year-old’s first appearance in Queenstown.
Diksha finishes T29 in Canberra
Diksha Dagar looked good for a top 20 finish before she bogeyed three of her last four holes to bring in her only over-par round this week at the Canberra Women’s Classic at the Royal Canberra Golf Club. She finished with a total of one-under 212 after rounds of 70, 70 and 72 for a share of 29th place on Sunday.
Dagar was the lone Indian to make the cut and she started with a bogey and ended with a birdie. In all, she had four bogeys against three birdies.
Anne Van Dam of The Netherlands surged home on the final nine to win by three strokes. It was her third Ladies European Tour title inside six months and her fourth overall.
Van Dam began the day as joint leader on 11 under and outduelled defending champion Korea’s Jiyai Shin and Slovenian Katja Pogacar, the other overnight co-leader. Van Dam picked four shots in last four holes for a round of six under 65.
Pogacar (68) also came home strongly with two birdies in the final four holes to finish 14-under par, one ahead of Shin, who was third despite a final round of 67.
Also read: More awards for Bali National Golf Club at Asia-Pacific meet
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