Rested Singh coming to East Lake to win -- the tournament
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
ATLANTA -- Don't overdue it, Vijay. Go easy on the weights. Forget skipping rope. Don't go the extra mile, literally.
Those are the kind of things Vijay Singh has been hearing over the last two weeks as he prepared for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.
All Singh has to do is complete 72 holes at East Lake and sign his scorecard Sunday and the big Fijian will be $10 million richer. He'll take possession of that gleaming silver Tiffany FedExCup trophy even if his finishes last among the 30 players gathered here.
That's why his friends and family -- even trainer Jeffrey Fronk who has helped Singh sculpt that lean, muscular body -- have been urging him to be cautious. Like the U.S. Postal Service, Singh doesn't need anything to keep him from completing those appointed four rounds in the finale of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.
"It's nice, really, to know that all you need to do is finish the round," Singh said. "I've been told the last four weeks, maybe 100 times, three weeks, 100 times, don't run too much and make sure you run on a flat surface and don't over exercise.
"So it's been kind of strange in a way that your friends and your family and your trainer keep saying, don't over exercise. We'll have to just keep it nice and easy this week. Kind of gets to your head a little bit.
"I'm here fresh and (I've) practiced pretty good. I've come to win this golf tournament now. I want to finish really strong."
Any why shouldn't Singh have confidence? He's won three of his last six starts, including the first two Playoff events. He's got a stellar record at East Lake, too -- Singh captured THE TOUR Championship in 2000, and he's never finished out of the top 10.
"I loved the golf course from the very get go," Singh said. "I went out there yesterday and I liked it even better. They've lengthened quite a few holes and the fairways have been changed a little bit and the greens are a little bit smaller, some of them, and some of them are bigger but less undulations on them.
"So I think it's going to be a great week. I think whoever wins this week has to play good golf. They cannot just go out there and play not their best and win; you have to go out there and get your whole game."
That's exactly what Singh has been doing of late, and while he may be awaiting that hefty direct deposit when the banks open on Monday, there's plenty more to go around. The other 29 players here are vying for an additional $15,190,000 in FedExCup bonus money. THE TOUR Championship carries a $7 million purse with $1.26 million going to the winner, too.
"There's two tournaments in one here," Singh said. "The FedExCup obviously is behind everybody's mind. You go out on the golf course and it says 'Playoffs' everywhere. At the same time, this is a big event for us. Two years ago, three years ago, this was one of the major events on TOUR. That's the way I still look at it.
"I want to come here and still keep a good focus on THE TOUR Championship and let the FedExCup be on the back of my mind, because you know I want that. All I need to do is just go out there and play four rounds. That's what everybody has been telling me. So I just want to have a good, solid finish to the tournament right here."
At the same time, though, Singh admits that it's mind-boggling to think that there are only two players who can beat him -- Camilo Villegas, winner of the BMW Championship, and Sergio Garcia. And that happens only if he is unable to play or is disqualified, and one of those players wins.
To make sure he's in the best of health, Singh actually took a week off after the BMW Championship. He'd been battling tendonitis in his left forearm and seven days without hitting those thousands of practice balls has worked wonders.
"(I) played a little, but not as intensely," Singh said. "I watched the Ryder Cup, so that was a good excuse not to practice. But I did enough work on my game, enough work with my body, and just kept myself in good shape for this week."
A win this week would be the 35th of the World Golf Hall of Famer's career and his 23rd since turning 40. He's not ready to sit back and appreciate what he's accomplished, though -- Singh is way too motivated for that.
"Once I quit playing, then I'll sit back and think about what I've done," Singh said, "But right now I'm still focused on what I'm doing."
And that is winning golf tournaments like the one he's playing in this week.
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