Vijay Singh walked out of the scorer’s tent, talked briefly with his caddie and then made a left turn toward a long line of autographed seekers eagerly thrusting caps, gloves, scorecards, photos and …
"No golf balls," Singh said, leaving little room for debate. A dejected fan asked, "How come?"
No reply. Just kept signing and answering a couple of reporters’ questions as he moved casually along. One fan yelled something about Fiji, his homeland. He didn’t acknowledge it. Another said "nice round." No doff of the cap. Just kept signing the variety of items handed to him and talking about his round, his game, his future.
Mr. Singh can be single-minded when he wants to be, a good trait in a golfer.
No. 3 on the PGA Tour career money list with $67.3 million in earnings, behind only Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, the 49-year-old, who will cross the 50 mark on George Washington’s birthday, isn’t ready to hang out with the elder statesmen on the Champions Tour just yet.
He put together four nice rounds of golf — all in the 60s — to shoot an 11-under 269, good enough to tie for 20th Sunday, but a whopping 13 shots behind Sony Open in Hawaii winner Russell Henley. Of the last dozen events on tour, nine have been won by a golfer in his 20s, signaling a real changing of the guard.
But Singh isn’t ready to give up the PGA Tour ghost just yet. He sees the youth movement as well as anyone. It’s all around him. When he was on the practice putting green and the driving range this week, very few of his contemporaries were with him. Just a group of fresh faces, much like he was when he turned pro in 1982. Singh didn’t join the PGA Tour until 10 years after, winning his first event in 1993 and his most recent one in 2008. With 34 tour victories, including two majors, Singh doesn’t have much left to prove. He would seem to be a prime candidate to dominate those closer to his age bracket, but even though he’s going to Hualalai next week to check things out on Hawaii island as the Champions Tour officially starts on Friday, don’t pencil him in for the senior circuit. It’s not happening in 2013.
"I may be 49 or 50, but that’s just a number," Singh said. "In my mind and physically, I can still play out here. I’m ready. I feel good. I took off two months, spent some time in Hawaii resting and working out. I’m going to compete on the PGA Tour for as long as I can."
He said he didn’t plan to play in any Champions Tour events, even the majors. He will be eligible for the Toshiba Classic on March 15-17, but will likely be starting the Florida swing of the PGA Tour by then. Singh said he will take next week off, then play four straight on the West Coast swing, new caddie in tow.
"I’m excited about the season," Singh said. "I did all right this week. I wish the wind would have blown a little more, but overall, I played all right. It’s always good to play here. (Singh won the Sony in 2005.) I like the tropical air. You feel relaxed."
Singh showed it on the fairways and greens. He was bogey-free the first round, limiting himself to three for the week. He carded 14 birdies and averaged 295 yards off the tee, but landed in the fairway only half the time. He still hit 61 of 72 greens in regulation and averaged 31.3 putts a round.
"It was an OK start," Singh said. "But I can do better."
