The Sports-India Community

Did anyone notice that Vijay was using his personal trainer as a caddie at Buick Open? Vijay was having to do all the yardage calculations, selecting the right clubs, check the wind direction and speed, etc. He won despite that handicap, or his caddie is the one that is preventing him from winning more often?

I am just curious.. If Tiger's position and Vijay's position were reversed on Saturday, how would the media have portrayed that

And Bhushan, I am leaning towards Woods too.. Atleast if he wins, my earnings in Golf contest makes it a little palatable..

Vijay did pretty well financially last year although Tiger is on another planet!

http://www.golfdigest.com/features/inde ... rners.html

I think off the course stats for VJ this year will be more than 10M... And he may sneak into top 3!!!

Did anybody with access to SI Extras , read the SI Extras article,
'Vijay's message: Not so fast, Tiger'

I can guess the content, but would love forum member's summary if they have access

Another favorable article for VJ!!!

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/w ... index.html

On his public image: "I don't know what I need to do to win you guys (writers). I'm not going to get on my knees and say, hey, write good things about me. I haven't done anything to not win your confidence. I'm a player, I go out there to play and I speak my mind. I'm very honest. I'm not a fake, like many guys out there. So write what you want to write but write what I say, don't mix things up. That's the way I am. I do not say things to please you guys. I say what I want to say, what is in my mind, and that's the way I am, that's the way I always will be and I think that's the best way to be."

On how much he respects Tiger: "Sure, who doesn't? He's the best player in the golf game right now. He's been that for a while. Gosh, if you don't respect what the has done, then you're not thinking right. He's been the best player and he's proven it over and over. He's a great golfer. We don't go to dinner together. You know, I don't go to dinner with 95 percent of the guys on Tour, maybe 99 percent of the guys. So why single Tiger out? I never have had a drink with Phil Mickelson. Why doesn't anyone talk about that? Or Retief, for that matter. Don't make a big deal out of nothing."

He's a great golfer. We don't go to dinner together. You know, I don't go to dinner with 95 percent of the guys on Tour, maybe 99 percent of the guys. So why single Tiger out? I never have had a drink with Phil Mickelson. Why doesn't anyone talk about that? Or Retief, for that matter. Don't make a big deal out of nothing."

I have satellite radio in my car and I was listening to PGA channel today while driving around town, and the discussion was about Vijay's statements about Tiger.

The commentator asked one of the golf experts (I missed his name) about Vijay and Tiger not going out to eat together, and he replied that none of the top golfers do that. He then reported how Lee Trevino has never had dinner with Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer except when there was a formal dinner party and many people had been invited.

Vijay speaks his mind and does not hold back. The golf writers must be really desperate to come up with some sensational news.

According to Sports Illustrated and Florida Times-Union:

"When Ponte Vedra Beach resident Vijay Singh tied for third last week at the NEC Invitational, it was his 51st top-10 finish in the last three seasons. That's the most of any PGA Tour player in a three-year period since Raymond Floyd had 52 between 1981-83. Singh has 10 more chances to catch and pass Floyd."

I was wondering for quite some time why the big Fijian was not playing at the level that we had become accustomed to, and Vijay provided an answer.

"Singh, who dropped behind Woods on the PGA money list this year after topping it in 2004, is determined to get his focus back on golf. Singh had four wins on the PGA tour this year, but said he'd become complacent with all the off-course distractions.

Singh said extra obligations have diverted his attention from working out and practicing properly.

``I worked really hard last year, and towards the end of this year I kind of slowed down,'' he said. ``Somewhere along there, I lost my way. But I've learned from it.''

Montgomerie won't worry about Tiger

Indeed, I hope Vijay has figured out what has gone wrong with his game this year. After two absolutely brilliant years in 2003 and 2004, he underperformed this year -- especially in the majors. That pattern continued with him finishing dead last in the small field for the Grand Slam Cup this week. Vijay has his work cut out for the offseason.

I am not sure if VJ can be back to his dominant ways.. HOpefully next year, he comes out with a bang and beat the hell out of tiger... but very little chance of that happening

Vijay had an exceptional season last year and he himself admitted that it would be diffcult to repeat that feat again. Although Vijay did loose some edge this season, but he was still better than all others except Tiger. Credit goes to Tiger who raised the bar and supassed Vijay. If Tiger goes down, Vijay can again be a dominant player.

Vijay Singh is planning to take next two weeks off to work on his game.

Vijay Singh won the Barclays Classic today and became the first person to win it three times. His first PGA Tour title came in 1993 when he won this event (then known as Buick Classic).

Vijay has won 29 PGA Tour titles in his career and 17 of them have come after he turned 40 years old. He is the co-holder of the record for most PGA wins after the age of 40 years.

Vijay missed the cut at the British Open and also ended a streak of seven consecutive Top 10s in Majors.  He missed a chance to tie Tiger's eight consecutive Top 10s at Majors.

Jack Nicklaus: 9 consecutive Top 10s (1970 British Open - 1972 British Open)
Tiger Woods: 8 consecutive Top 10s (1999 U.S. Open - 2001 Masters)
Vijay Singh: 7 consecutive Top 10s
Phil Mickelson: 5 (2004 Masters - 2005 Masters)
Ernie Els: 5 (2003 PGA - 2004 PGA)
Retief Goosen: 3 (twice) (2004 U.S. Open - 2005 Masters; 2005 British Open - 2006 Masters)
Tom Watson: 7 (1982 Masters - 1983 British Open)
Arnold Palmer: 6 (1966 Masters - 1967 U.S. Open)

Ben Hogan*: 15 (1939 PGA Championship - 1947 U.S Open)
(*) Did not include playing in the British Open.