He Works Hard for the Money -- and the Hall

No matter what else anyone thinks of Vijay Singh, you have to respect his work ethic. When players talk about going out to the range and “beating balls,” it’s usually an expression of drudgery and sort of a hint that they would much rather fill their time with more leisurely pursuits, such as the cashing of checks.

That’s not the way Singh plays it, though. He always has a golf club in his hand, or so it seems, because you don’t see many pictures of Singh without one.

Even when he’s not playing, he’s playing. There’s the time Singh missed the cut by one shot last year at Torrey Pines and told everybody he was worn out and was heading home to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., to relax and get away from the golf course.

That was Friday night. Early on Saturday morning in the fog, a solitary figure stood next to his bag at the far end of the driving range, where Singh pulled out a club and started beating balls.

You would have to say it has paid off, all that practice. Last year, Singh cashed checks better than anyone in the history of golf -- a record $10.9 million -- and even became the No. 1 player in the world for the first time.

He won nine tournaments, including his third major championship (the PGA), earned his first player-of-the-year award and had the lowest scoring average of anybody in golf. Singh also showed his disdain for inactivity by playing in 29 tournaments, but that’s his normal work schedule. The fewest number of tournaments Singh has played in the last seven years is 26.

When you win nine times, as Singh did, you become accustomed to it. Last year, tournament Sundays were better known as Vijay Day and this year is not much different.

If it’s possible, Singh is getting better, or at the very least, he’s just as good as he was in 2004, when all he did basically was put together a Hall of Fame year.

Singh is the newest member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, according to the results of the balloting by Hall of Fame players, writers and golf officials. He was not only the youngest player at 42 to gain admittance, he was also the only one to make it in the voting this time.

Of course, Singh isn’t the only active player to be a Hall of Fame member -- Nick Faldo, Greg Norman, Nick Price, Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite have been inducted in recent years -- but he’s probably one of the most fortunate. The voting requirements were relaxed so that if no candidate received the minimum 65% of the vote, anyone receiving at least half the votes would get in. That’s how Singh got in with 56%.

This is probably one of the few breaks Singh has ever gotten. Much has been said about his upbringing in Fiji and being taught by his dad, an airplane mechanic. Even more has been written about his taking a job as a club pro in Borneo after he was accused of a scorecard-doctoring incident.

If whispers about that problem still have some sort of residual effect, it hasn’t shown in Singh’s play. Never exactly warm with the media, Singh has never let bad press -- or press of any kind, actually -- turn into a bad tournament.

At the 2003 Byron Nelson, where he expressed resentment toward Annika Sorenstam’s playing at the Colonial the next week and took a beating in the media, all Singh did was win the tournament.

Faced with questions about his stance the rest of 2003, Singh wound up with four victories, five seconds, $7.5 million and a narrow loss to Tiger Woods for player of the year.

Last year, with comparisons to Woods made almost weekly, Singh defeated Woods in a head-to-head showdown at the Deutsche Bank Championship, took away his No. 1 ranking, plus his player-of-the-year status and Vardon Trophy.

This year, despite being admitted to the Hall of Fame, the watered-down standards of the hall threatened to take the edge off the honor. All Singh did was show up to defend his title at Houston and then won it, defeating John Daly in a playoff. Sunday was Vijay Day again.

He has two victories this year, he probably could have had a couple of more at Kapalua and the Honda, he says he’s playing even better than he did a year ago, he has passed $40 million in earnings and he’s closing in on Woods again for the No. 1 ranking.

If Singh wins again this week in New Orleans, he’ll be the first player in 30 years to successfully defend titles in back-to-back weeks.

If Singh comes through, he’ll probably say he needs a vacation, then head back out to the driving range. He might be overdoing it, and he wouldn’t want to hear anybody tell him that, but the way things are going, Singh probably deserves a break, even if he isn’t going to take one.

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Money Leaders

Vijay Singh trails Phil Mickelson by $6,043 on this season’s PGA Tour money list:

*--* Rk. Player Tourn. Money 1. Phil Mickelson 9 $3,842,456 2. Vijay Singh 12 $3,836,413 3. Tiger Woods 8 $3,687,090 4. David Toms 10 $2,282,443 5. Fred Funk 11 $1,841,200 6. Luke Donald 8 $1,766,427 7. Retief Goosen 8 $1,698,408 8. Adam Scott 8 $1,657,748 9. Chris DiMarco 7 $1,541,278 10. Joe Ogilvie 12 $1,476,843

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