Singh Dreads the ‘A-Word’

Here are six words you never thought you would ever hear Vijay Singh say:

“I get along well with everybody.”

Oh, really? Then that must include the man in the tan shorts who was heckling him, the one Singh had ejected from the stands behind the 14th green Friday afternoon at Olympia Fields.

The fan reportedly said, “Annika would have made that.”

Yes, Annika is precisely the Magic Word that pushes Singh’s button. Ever since his remarks last month that he hoped Annika Sorenstam would miss the cut at Colonial and that he would withdraw if he found himself in the same group with her, she has occupied a shelf in Singh’s mind.

He does not want her there.

Anyway, you have to assume Singh doesn’t get along with Sorenstam any better than he does with the guy at the 14th green. But to hear Singh tell it, he didn’t even notice the heckler.

And that move he made, when he waved his club as the heckler was shown the door, what was that?

Here are six more words you never thought you’d hear Singh say:

“I was waving to my caddie.”

Interesting. If so, it’s the second time Singh has waved to his caddie this week. On Tuesday, he waved goodbye to Paul Tesori when he fired him. That same day, he rehired Dave Renwick, the caddie Singh said he waved to on the 14th green Friday afternoon.

This might be a good time to mention that Singh shot a second-round 63 and is tied for the lead at the U.S. Open. It’s also a good time point out that he has now become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world in mastering adversity.

His round of 63 matches the lowest ever shot in a major. His 36-hole score of 133 is a U.S. Open record, equaling co-leader Jim Furyk, who got there a couple of hours before Singh.

As Olympia Fields tore back its sod and revealed itself to the world as nothing more than an old softy, Singh marched mirthlessly on his way, revealing himself as golf’s greatest curmudgeon.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, at least according to Singh’s portrayal. He might be the hottest player on the planet. He is working on a string of six consecutive top-11 finishes, which includes a victory at the Byron Nelson, one week after he torched Sorenstam and immediately invited torrents of criticism to pelt his white visor.

It mattered not to Singh. Judging by his record, nothing seems to faze him.

He could say the Dixie Chicks were right, then go shoot 62.

He could drive his courtesy car right past the security guards at the front gate, park it in front of his locker and then get, say, seven birdies and an eagle, as he did Friday.

You get the feeling that if somebody stole his clubs or melted them into forks or something and he had to play the U.S. Open with a toaster glued to the bottom of a broom, he’d still figure out a way to make it all work out just fine.

How Singh makes this happen is beyond any reasonable explanation. He says it’s all due to his ability to focus.

Let’s talk about this for a moment. It could explain one of the more puzzling aspects to the Singh-Sorenstam saga. The very moment he was speaking to reporters and repeating his negative comments about Sorenstam just before the Nelson tournament, a mutual friend of Vijay’s and Annika’s had Sorenstam available on the cell phone and called Singh to try to put them together.

Singh wouldn’t take the call. He must have been focusing.

He said he doesn’t read about his exploits in the sports pages, probably because it would dim his powers of concentration. Clearly, he has done his part to make sure there is no shortage of material.

From the Annika episode, to pulling out of Colonial, to blowing off questions whenever possible, from waving goodbye to his caddie two days before the U.S. Open, to bidding adieu to a solitary heckler while attempting to shoot the lowest round in the history of major championship golf, Singh has been at the top of his game.

His golf remains impeccable. But the other stuff....

What would have happened if Singh had chosen to respond to the heckler by removing his visor, bowing and smiling?

Besides defusing the situation, improving the mood and showing he has a sense of humor, you mean?

Never going to happen. That simply wouldn’t be Singh’s way, the one we have come to know, if not understand.

Adversity stirs Singh’s soda. He swims upstream so often he should have gills.

This is the player who is tied for the lead at the U.S. Open. How he is going to make a negative out of that is anybody’s guess.