HUALALAI, Hawaii >> Vijay Singh walked off the 18th green after sinking a 30-footer for birdie grimacing a bit as he held his right side.
After Singh signed his scorecard and answered a few questions about his 8-under 64 during Friday’s second round of the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, his caddie asked him if he wanted to get something to eat. Singh declined, saying he didn’t want to sit down because he wasn’t sure if he could get back up.
Instead, he headed to a familiar spot in his stellar career — the practice range.
Old habits die hard. Nobody has pounded as many golf balls as Singh, who said after his round that he isn’t playing the par-5s well enough. Still, his 8-under 136 score for the tournament left him as the clubhouse leader for most of the afternoon.
“I just made less mistakes, less wind, putted nicely,” Singh said when asked how he went from a ho-hum 72 on Thursday to a second-round-best 64 on Friday.
“The par-5s are getting to me a little bit. I managed to make an eagle today at (the par-5) 4, birdied at (the par-5) 10. I didn’t birdie (at the par-5) 14 with an iron in my hand, you know. Yesterday I had a 5-iron in my hand at 14 and made a double.
“Take those away, you know, but they’re killing me. This round got me back into the thick of things. I’ll be three or four back by the end of the day. I’ve got a shot.”
The Big Fijian is one of eight golfers playing here for the first time. Singh, who has a home on the Big Island, has played this course before, but never in tournament conditions.
“I have played here before, but these are different greens,” Singh said. “They’ve firmed up. Almost no grain, so it’s hard to read the putts. Much better conditions. I’d love to play the golf course all the time if it was like this. It’s a nice course. If the winds don’t blow too hard, you can go low.”
Watson betters his age
Tom Watson headed to the scorer’s tent, letting golf fans know along the way that his 7-under 65 bettered his age of 66 by one shot. It is the third time Watson has managed that feat. It left him at 10-under 134 and tied for sixth entering today’s final round.
“Actually, I’ve broken it three times. I haven’t equaled it yet, damn it,” Watson deadpanned as only he can do. “No, I’ve broken it by one each time. It gets me into contention of winning this golf tournament, that’s for sure.
“Today the wind laid down, so the scores were lower today. I took advantage of those conditions. Hit some good shots. Played better than I did yesterday. I’m very happy about my overall performance today. It was pretty good for an old guy, 66.”
Watson carded eight birdies and one bogey on a course he loves. Hawaii has always agreed with him through the years. So, what’s the secret to his success at the Jack Nicklaus-designed course?
“I think I know the golf course pretty well,” Watson said. “That’s a big help. If you are hitting it half decently, there are a lot of birdies on this golf course.”
Lehman cards 3 eagles
Tom Lehman did something on Friday he hasn’t accomplished in a quarter-century. He managed eagles on three of the par-5s and birdied the other to go 7 under on those four holes alone en route to a 65 that left him tied for second at 11-under 133. That’s the first time it has happened on the Champions Tour since Joe Don Blake turned the trick in 2013 at the Shaw Charity Classic in Calgary.
“I have done it before,” Lehman said. “We were talking about that. I did it on the Hogan Tour (Web.com Tour now) in Reno in 1991. I’m not sure if I’ve done it since then, but I remember specifically that I shot 62 that day, made three eagles. You don’t hear that very often, especially without holing one from the fairway on a par-4, so the par-5s were very good to me.”
Inside the numbers
As you might expect in conditions with little or no wind, the scoring average dropped significantly from Thursday to Friday.
The first day of the tournament the scoring average was 70.535. On Friday, it fell to 69.326, with the par-5 10th being the easiest hole at 4.302. There were three eagles, 27 birdies, 10 pars and three bogeys at that 578-yard hole.
The hardest was the par-3 eighth, with a scoring average of 3.163. There were three birdies, 31 pars, eight bogeys and one double bogey by Billy Andrade.
