Trophy News from Ohio
PHILIP REID Reports from Akron. Ohio
THIS WAS different. For a change, there was no ode to Tiger. For the first time since 2004, a name other than Tiger Woods was etched onto the Bridgestone Invitational trophy at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. And, perhaps fittingly, his successor as champion after a drama-filled final round was Vijay Singh.
Sure, there were moments yesterday – especially when the Fijian had the belly-putter in his hand, with a succession of missed short putts putting pressure on him down the stretch – where Singh looked fallible. But, in the end, he got the job done (just about) with a final-round 68 for 270, 10-under-par, that left him with a shot to spare over runners-up Lee Westwood and Stuart Appleby.
Ironically, given his travails with the putter, Singh finished the job with a tricky three-and-a-half-footer for par on the last.
Singh – whose last trophy win on tour had come in the Bay Hill Invitational in March 2007, a gap of 17 months – had started the final round tied with Westwood and Phil Mickelson, but took control early on with a hat-trick of birdies from the second and another birdie on the sixth.
Thereafter, it proved to be a rough ride home and bogeys at the eighth, 11th and 13th (with just one birdie on the 12th, from four feet) allowed Westwood and a charging Appleby to apply pressure down the stretch.
In the end, Singh’s run of five successive pars from the 14th was enough to see him claim a first WGC golf trophy, although Westwood – more than anyone – will rue some missed birdie chances on the way home that could have given him a first win on American soil in a decade.
Coming just six weeks after he finished third in the US Open, Westwood started birdie-birdie, but hit a rocky patch mid-way through the front nine when he bogeyed the fourth and double-bogeyed the seventh before birdieing three of the next six holes.
However, a bogey on the 14th, and then a run of four pars, meant that he came up just short again.
On a day when conditions were made for good scoring, Paul Casey – in the doldrums for much of this season and lacking any consistency – finally exploded into life, returning a bogey-free 65 that was perfectly timed coming in the final tournament before Oakland Hills and a matter of weeks before Faldo must name his two picks.
Is it the start of a Casey run for the Ryder Cup?
“Well, I need it, don’t I? I’m well out of the points and below players like Sergio, (Ian) Poulter, Monty, Luke (Donald) and I don’t really want to rely on a pick. You know, this is a good start but I really need to throw in a couple of top-fives or a win or something like that to get myself on the team.
“This is an important run of events . . . but I’ve got to take it one round at a time, one shot at a time. The ultimate goal is to try and win (the PGA trophy). I mean, majors are still the ultimate thing but I’d love to be part of that Ryder Cup team. Right now, they are probably the greatest memories I’ve ever had while being on a golf course and I’d like to be part of another team. And I’ve got some playing to do for that team before we get there.”
Originally Written by Philip Reid in the Irish Times
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