Singh happy to have Fed Ex all but locked up

When told that Sergio Garcia and Mike Weir needed to finish 1-2 in the next two FedEx Cup playoff tournament events and he needed to finish last not to win the first-place trophy and $10 million prize, Vijay Singh cracked the smile that had been ever-present throughout Monday’s final round.

“That makes me feel a lot better,” Singh said.

The good times keep rolling for Singh.

He fired an 8-under-par 63 in tough final-round conditions to put him at 22-under for the tournament, which broke Adam Scott’s record by two strokes. He did so by putting better than he has in his entire career, which he credits to having greater confidence in himself.

“I’ve never felt this comfortable on the greens, ever,” Singh said.

And now he has the FedEx all but wrapped up.

Singh took all the suspense out of the final round by dominating TPC Boston, a fact that even he found amazing. Singh said after the second round that he thought the greens were too receptive. But after the final round, he thought the PGA had gone too far.

“Some of them were almost unplayable,” Singh said. “It’s good to play a golf course tough, but to have that much change…the Tour should look into that, finding a happy medium.”

Weir, who placed second at 17-under, echoed Singh’s thoughts.

“It’s borderline mini golf out there,” Weir said. “I’m not sure what they’re trying to do, but I don’t agree with it myself.”

Ernie Els finished tied for third with Camilo Villegas, who shot a 2-over 73, whle Tim Herron and Sergio Garcia finished tied for fourth.

But this day belonged to Singh. When asked what it was like to watch Singh’s final round, Garcia summed it up best.

“Awesome.”

Singh wins in record fashion

Vijay Singh not only won the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston, he did so in record fashion. Singh fired a final-round 8-under-par 63 to put him at 22-under for the tournament, which bests Adam Scott’s tournament record by two strokes.

Hit his second shot on the 18th just past the flag stick, then two-putted for birdie. Mike Weir birdied the 18th to finish second at 17-under, while Ernie Els and Camilo Villegas finished tied for third at 14-under.

When asked what it was like watching Singh roll in birdie putt after birdie putt, Garcia replied: “Awesome.”

Singh also appears to have wrapped up the FedEx Cup. The players are wrapping up their television commitments and are about to do interviews. I’ll check back in when they’re done.

Vijay looks to have it wrapped up

Well, so much for any suspense here at TPC Boston.

Barring a miracle by Mike Weir in his last three holes, Vijay Singh will win the Deutsche Bank to give him back-to-back FedEx Cup playoff wins. I don’t know what that does to the playoffs, but it can’t be good. Singh was already ranked No. 1 heading into the Deutsche Bank, and with another win I’d imagine he’ll be close to untouchable unless someone can reel off back-to-back wins of their own. I haven’t seen the television ratings, but my eyes tell me that this season’s playoffs aren’t as popular as last year’s with Tiger. They’ll become less popular if the BMW Championship and TOUR Championship are victory laps for Singh.

Just like he did in The Barclays last week, Singh’s putter was on. Holding a two-shot lead over Weir through 12 holes, Singh rolled in 37- and 60-foot birdie putts to move to 21-under for the tournament and four clear of Weir. Both putts elicited incredulous smiles from Sergio Garcia, and Vijay held his grin after the 60 footer all the way to the 15th tee.

Singh is currently at 21-under, four shots clear of Weir. The next closest players are Tim Herron, Ernie Els and Camilo Villegas at 13-under. I’ll check back in as soon as Singh’s done at 18.

The final round is underway

Welcome to the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston, where it’s already shaping up to be an exciting day of golf.

The lead group of Mike Weir and Sergio Garcia are through three holes, with Weir and Garcia tied at 17-under, one stroke ahead of Vijay Singh and Camilo Villegas. The biggest mover out of that group is Singh, who ealged his second hole to go from 14- to 16-under. Lurking in third is Ernie Els at 15-under. Els began the day at 13-under, but birdied the first and second.

The biggest mover of the day is Tim Herron, who began the final round in a tie for 31st, at 7-under, but is five under through 14 and in a tie for seventh with Angel Cabrera and Ben Crane.

Like I said yesterday, the plan is to go to the ninth hole and walk with Weir, Villegas, Garcia and Singh. I might check back in after the 16th if anything interesting happens. If not I’ll check in right after the last group has putted out on the 18th.

Weir leads Villegas by one heading into final

Mike Weir birdied the 18th to grab a one-shot lead over Camilo Villegas heading into Monday’s final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship. It will mark the second time this week that Weir and Villegas have competed for a championship.

On Tuesday, the pair competed in the inaugural Notah Begay III Foundation Challege at Turning Stone Resort’s Atunyoute Golf Club, which is outside of Syracuse, N.Y. Villegas won the tournament, earning $220,000 in skins, while Weir was shut out.

“I was kind of mad about that, not getting a skin,” Weir said.

Perhaps competing in Begay’s skins competition was a prerequisite for doing well in the Deutsche Bank, because Singh, who won $180,000 in skins, is tied with Sergio Garia for third at 14-under.

Ben Crane, Ernie Els and Jim Furyk are four back.

I don’t know why, but I really like Els tomorrow. Weir looks solid, but I think he might burn out after being near the top for three days in a row. Villegas would be a good story, but you never know with him. Garcia missed a bunch of putts by mere inches, which tells me that the golf Gods are rooting against him. Singh is my second pick, and I think it would be epic if there was a Els-Singh duel down the stretch. The Big Easy vs. The Big Fijian.

The third round of a PGA tournament is called moving day, but not everybody moves up. Anthony Kim shot a 3-over 74 to plummet from tied for ninth to tied for 31st, while Ben Curtis went from tied for third to tied for 21st.

OK, I have a story to write on Labor Day deadline, so I have to run. I plan on picking up Garcia and Singh at the ninth hole and bouncing back between them and Weir and Villegas. But I’ll check back in before I head out ot the course.

Weir, Villegas and Garcia near the top

Mike Weir still has two holes to play, but right now the leader board looks like this: Weir is in the lead at 17-under, followed by Camilo Villegas at 16 and Sergio Garcia at 14.

I doubt it’s going to happen, but if for some reason Weir implodes over his last two holes, that would set up a Villegas-Garcia final twosome, which might inject some life into this tournament. Lurking at 13-under are Ben Crane and a trio of big names: Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh. Els got about emotional as the Big Easy is going to get on the 18th green, puntuating a long putt with a fist pump.

A lot’s going on right now so I’ll check back after everyone’s turned their cards in. One quick note: the pros said the course played much tougher today because of the wind and greens.

Another record-setting day at TPC?

I’m back at the Deutsche Bank after another trip to the Boston Golf Club in Hingham to talk to some local junior golfers. I think everybody is taking Route 3 to the Cape today. Yikes!

As for the golf here at TPC Boston, Tim Clark is clinging to a 4-shot lead over Steve Marino and Mike Weir. Marino is 4-under for the day, while Weir is one. (Interesting Steve Marino local connection: Marino played a practice round with Old Sandwich GC assistant pro Eric Dugas at the PGA Championship.) The biggest mover of the day is Ben Crane, who fired an 8-under-par 63 to go from 5-under and near the cut line to 13-under and currently a tie for fourth. Also charging hard are Camilo Villegas (13-under through six) and D.J. Trahan (12-under through nine). But there’s still a lot of golf to play.

As I said yesterday, I’m curious to see if the course plays any tougher. The scoreboard tells me no, but it’s hot and sunny, which means the greens should run a little faster. I’m going to watch some golf and see what the crowd’s like. I’ll check back in in a little while.

Clark leads after 36

It’s hard to call a 9-under-par 62 disappointing, but Tim Clark’s in today’s second round of the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston, which gave him a one-stroke lead over Mike Weir, might have been. The 32-year-old South African was 10-under through 13 holes and 11-under through 16, before bogeying the eighth and ninth (his 17th and 18th). An 11-under round would have broken Mike Weir and Vijay Singh’s competitive course record, and 12-under would have given him a 59.

For his part, Clark didn’t express any disappointment.

“I’m certainly not disappointed, because I’ve only played 36 holes and there’s a lot more golf to play,” Clark said. “I’m disappointed about the 59, but at the end of the day I’m still playing the second round of the tournament and I have t keep going if I want to win.”

Ben Curtis and Vijay Singh stand two behind Clark, while Jim Furyk, Kevin Streelman, Sergio Garcia and Ernie Els are three back.

Handicapping this tournament is difficult, with so many players posting so many birdies. Weir looked good for the second day in a row, but so did Curtis, Singh, Garcia, Els and Anthony Kim. The wildcard, at least in my opinion, is Streelman. The Tour rookie has a pair of top 10s in his last two tournaments and looks as confident as anybody out there.

Sunday’s forecast is 82 degrees and sunny, so maybe that will toughen up the course. Cloud and rain kept the greens soft until the very end of the day, when sunshine firmed them up.

I’m heading to the youth tournament at the Boston Golf Club in Hingham that’s going on in conjunction with the Deutsche Bank in the morning, but I’ll check back in before the leaders tee off to report what’s happening.

Clark passes Weir for first

Tim Clark just made his second eagle in four holes on the par-4 fourth (his 13th) to go to 10-under for the day and 15-under for the tournament and pass Mike Weir for the lead. Clark started the day at 5-under for the tournament, but made five birdies on the front, a birdie on the first, an eagle on the second, a par on the third and then another eagle on the fourth, which is a drivable par-4.

For the second day in a row, TPC Boston is indefensible, with the cut line hovering around 3-under and threatening to go lower. As I’ve said in other posts, the main culprit is the weather. There’s been very little direct sunlight, which means the greens are as soft as they were for Wednesday’s pro-am. When pros see soft greens, they start firing at every pin, which is what they’re doing. I just got back from following Padraig Harrington, Hunter Mahan and Jerry Kelly, and on the 18th hole, Kelly and Mahan both hit woods into the green and they stopped to within 15 feet of pin, something that wouldn’t have happened if the greens were a little crispy.

Speaking of Harrington, it looks as though he won’t make the cut unless he gets it going on the back nine. On the 17th, he hit an approach shot to within five feet, but missed the putt. Then on the 18th, he landed his second shot on the right-front rough, then chipped his ball about 10 feet past the hole. I can’t tell if he’s tired or frustrated, but whatever he is he’s not playing well.

Humorous aside No. 1: As I was standing on the 17th green, next to a hospitality tent, Jerry Kelly’s caddie walked up next to me and traded a father and son Kelly’s glove for a couple Dunkin’ Donuts gift certificates. As the caddie was walking away, he turned back and said, “This is the best thing that’s happened to me all week.”

Humorous aside No. 2: As Padraig Harrington was walking down the 17th fairway, an older women with an Irish accent yelled to him some words of encouragement. As I was walking past her, I heard her tell the man standing next to him, “My sister is married to that guy’s brother.”

Day 2 in full swing

All but a few of the afternoon tee times have went off here at the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston, and not much as changed since Friday. First-round leader Mike Weir gave up a few strokes on the back nine (his front) but made three birdies on the back to finish with a 3-under-par 68 and the clubhouse lead at 13-under. Jim Furyk is two back at 11-under, while John Merrick, Anthony Kim and Heath Slocum are three back.

Of the players that are on the course now, Tim Clark is looking good at 3-under through five, but other than that, it’s too early to tell.

With the cut line projected at 2-under, several players are in danger of missing it, including Adam Scott, Ian Poulter and Kenny Perry. One player who looks like he’ll miss it for sure is Padraig Harrington. If he does, Harrington will likely not make the top 70 and thus not qualify for next week’s BMW Championship, which is pretty ridiculous considering he won the British Open and PGA Championship.

Other than that, the weather is overcast with a little bit of rain, which is bad for fans but good for player, who love the clouds because they keep the greens soft. Like I said yesterday, I’m interested to see how the turnout is sans Tiger Woods. I’ve heard it’s a little light and you can walk up and buy a ticket. I’ll report back in a little while.