Singh Sinks Daly in Playoff

Vijay Singh took advantage of John Daly’s errant tee shot on the first hole of a playoff Sunday to win the Shell Houston Open at Humble, Texas, for the second consecutive year and third time in four years.

“I’m really pleased with the way I hung in there and never gave up,” Singh said. “Fortunately for me, nobody came out of the pack except for John.”

Daly, who birdied the final two holes for a five-under-par 67 to match Singh’s four-round total of 275, sent his drive on the first extra hole, the par-four 18th, into the water. Then his third shot after a drop went over the green.

“I’m proud of myself for coming back like that and hitting some shots when I needed to,” Daly said. “I wished I could have done better in the playoff.”

Singh, who overcame putting problems to shoot a 70, calmly made a par for his 26th PGA Tour victory and second this year.

The 42-year-old Fijian earned $900,000 to pass Tiger Woods for second place on the money list with $3,836,413, only $6,043 behind leader Phil Mickelson. Woods and Mickelson skipped the tournament.

Singh, recently elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, couldn’t slam the door on Daly in regulation when his birdie attempt at 18 rolled barely past the cup after a brilliant approach from the far right side to eight feet of the flag.

Earlier at the 18th, Daly’s second shot had landed nine feet away, prompting a roar from the crowd that grew even louder after he rolled it home for a birdie to go to 13 under.

“I take it that under pressure that maybe I’ve still got it,” Daly said. “When you’re not there a lot, it’s kind of nice to do that.”

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Carin Koch won the Corona Morelia Championship for her second LPGA Tour victory, beating Karine Icher by six strokes at Morelia, Mexico.

The 34-year-old Koch, also the 2001 Corning Classic winner, closed with her second consecutive one-under 71 to finish at nine-under 279. She earned $150,000.

Icher shot a 70. Third-round co-leader Wendy Ward fell out of contention with a triple-bogey on the 15th and finished with a 78 to tie for third with Catriona Matthew (72) at two under .

“I was tense,” Koch said. “I tried not to pay too much attention to what everyone else was doing. I really tried to stick to my game and do what I do.”

Lorena Ochoa, who won twice last year to become the LPGA Tour’s first Mexican-born champion, shot a 73 to tie for 16th at five-over.

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Des Smyth shrugged off unseasonable wind and cold weather to win for the second time on the Champions Tour this season, a two-stroke victory over Tom Jenkins in the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf at Savannah, Ga.

Smyth, who won the SBC Classic in March at Valencia Country Club, shot a one-under 71 for an eight-under 208 on The Club at Savannah Harbor. He earned $382,000.