Singh Wins Buick, if Not Popular Vote

A massive gallery roared when John Daly was introduced at the Buick Open’s first tee, and politely clapped for Vijay Singh in a preview of what was to come over the next four hours in Grand Blanc, Mich.

As they walked down the first fairway, Singh patted Daly on the back and both chuckled as fans hooted and hollered best wishes toward Daly.

Singh seemed to get a kick out of the reception for Daly, and he later said it motivated him to win the tournament.

Singh outlasted Daly with a five-under 67 Sunday to win the Buick Open at 23-under 265 for his fourth victory of the year and 19th of his career. Daly, vying for multiple wins in one year for the first time, finished a stroke behind after shooting a 66 and bogeying the 18th hole.

“It was noisy, and the crowd was all for him, but it fired me up,” Singh said. “The more they made noise, the more calm I became. I’m just growing up, I guess, and handling the pressure better.”

Tiger Woods started the day three strokes behind Singh, and pulled only one stroke closer despite shooting a 66. He finished at 21 under, tied with Carlos Franco (67) for third.

“To play that well and not win is frustrating,” said Woods, who will try to end his streak without a major victory at nine at the PGA Championship in two weeks.

Defending champion Jim Furyk, who shared the second-round lead with Singh, finished tied for sixth at 17 under after shooting a 68 on Sunday.

Singh’s bogey at 18 created an opportunity for Daly to force a playoff, but Daly was unable to take advantage.

“I told him, ‘You know, I’m sorry that somebody had to win,’ ” Singh said.

Entering the tournament, Singh had 10 top-10 finishes this year. But since winning consecutive tournaments three months ago, he has only two top-five finishes and was tied for 28th at the U.S. Open and 20th at the British Open.

The Fijian played well this week after changing his putter, going back to a standard putter after using a long one for 2 1/2 years.

“The way I putted for the last two months, I could not possibly have putted worse,” he said.

Singh also said earlier in the week that he stopped worrying about chasing Woods in the world rankings, where Woods is No. 1 and Singh No. 3.

The final round turned into virtual match play between Singh and Daly, one of the top golfers in the world against one of the most popular.

Daly is an undisputed crowd favorite despite, or perhaps because of, his alcohol and personal problems, and his booming drives off the tee.

He has won five tournaments, including the 1991 PGA Championship at Crooked Stick, where he came out of nowhere and quickly became a folk hero.

“This crowd reminded me of Crooked Stick all the way,” Daly said. “It’s been a long time since I was going from greens to tees giving high-fives and stuff.”