Singh Cooking on Front Burner

The occasion was Friday’s second round of the PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club, and you know what that meant.

Yes, it was Vijay Day.

That’s Vijay Singh, the visor-wearing import from Lautoka, Fiji, who is quite possibly the hardest-working man in the golf business, mainly because he would rather be hitting golf balls than just about anything short of drawing a breath.

Under spectacularly sunny skies that dried out fairways and greens, Singh birdied five holes on the front, finished with a four-under-par 66 and took a one-shot lead at four-under 136 after 36 holes.

Afterward, Singh was asked his thoughts on his round.

“I hit the ball really good,” he said.

Well, thanks for that explanation, Vijay. Alert “SportsCenter” so they can get a clip of that.

Anyway, regardless of how well Singh hit the ball, his lead isn’t nearly as big as the line for the pay phones near the clubhouse.

There is a trio one shot behind Singh at three-under that includes Colin Montgomerie of Scotland, Steve Stricker and Scott Gump. Stricker actually had the lead through 16 holes, then double-bogeyed No. 17 when his golf ball went swimming on his tee shot at the par-three hole.

Tiger Woods leads a group at two-under 138 that also includes Davis Love III, Steve Elkington, Andrew Magee and Brad Faxon.

Woods, who led the first round with a 66, visited nearly every part of Sahalee with his golf ball and finished with a two-over 72. Woods begins the weekend close to the lead and with a good attitude.

“I’m only two back and that’s perfect,” he said. “I’m pleased with the way I scored, but I’m not very happy with the way I hit the ball.”

Maybe, but at least Woods is sticking around, which is more than a few big-time players can say. Jesper Parnevik shot a 76 and missed the five-over cut by a shot. Justin Leonard shot a 77 and missed by two shots. Others whose weekends were freed up include Tom Watson, Lee Janzen, Jose Maria Olazabal, Lee Westwood, Payne Stewart, John Daly and David Duval.

Singh isn’t going anywhere, except maybe to get a couple of buckets of golf balls. He spends more time on the practice ground than a range ball, which might explain his quick start.

He birdied three of the first four holes, then got another when he coaxed a 20-footer to drop on No. 7. When his five-iron stopped four feet from the hole on the par-three ninth and Singh made the putt from there, he was at five under and in the lead.

He missed the fairway and the green at No. 11 and made bogey, but got it back when he birdied the par-three 13th with an eight-foot putt. He also missed the green at No. 17 and made a bogey there, although it didn’t dampen his enthusiasm.

In fact, Singh chose instead to endorse what sounded like sort of a connect-the-dots philosophy.

“I just like to go do what I did today tomorrow and the day after,” he said.

Now that’s a goal you can live with. Meanwhile, Montgomerie would have tied for the lead if he could have avoided a bogey at the 18th, but he was so encouraged by his putting that his face didn’t get any redder than usual. Montgomerie said he has been working with short-game guru Dave Pelz.

“He’s a very confident individual. Oozes confidence and can only make you more confident. And a lot of it is confidence. Maybe 90% of it is confidence,” Montgomerie said.

So it’s about confidence, is it? After losing to Elkington in a playoff at the 1995 PGA, Montgomerie has been close, so he should know what it takes to win this tournament--make a few putts. He had three birdies on the back on putts of 20, 25, and 15 feet.

“If I can put the ball in position and I can putt the way I am right now, I feel like I have every opportunity,” said Montgomerie, who added he would be heading back out to the practice range, right after lunch, of course.

Gump is a 32-year-old career grinder who is winless since joining the PGA Tour in 1991 and spending a year on the Nike Tour after losing his card. Gump did finish second to Steve Jones at the Quad City Classic last month.

He also will remind you that he is no relation to Forrest Gump, thank you.

“I don’t run,” he said.

He does hit the ball straight, though, and that came in really handy.

“Obviously, I’m pretty pleased with the way I’ve been hitting it,” Gump said.

Phil Mickelson made a double bogey at No. 2, which is like losing three shots since it’s a par-five birdie hole, but he hung in there and left with his second consecutive round of 70 as well as a positive feeling.

“I don’t think I’m that far back,” he said. “I’m not overly disappointed.”

After all, he’s only four shots back and there are still 36 holes to be played. Anything can happen, and the way things are going so far in a tournament where a Fijian, a Scot and a guy named Gump are right up there, it probably will.

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THE LEADERS

Vijay Singh: 70-66--136 -4

C. Montgomerie: 70-67--137 -3

Scott Gump: 68-69--137 -3

Steve Stricker: 69-68--137 -3

Steve Elkington: 69-69--138 -2

Andrew Magee: 70-68--138 -2

Brad Faxon: 70-68--138 -2

Tiger Woods: 66-72--138 -2

Davis Love III: 70-68--138 -2

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BACK IN THE HUNT: His ills all cured, Steve Elkington is again in contention in a PGA. C5