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59 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, April 27, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 25, 2005 Singh wins Houston Open in playoff with Daly By MICHAEL GRACZYK The Associated Press HUMBLE, Texas — Vijay Singh waited patiently for a break in the final round of the Shell Houston Open. John Daly finally gave him a big one on the first extra hole. Taking advantage of Daly’s playoff drive that skipped into the water, Singh overcome putting problems and a long birdie drought to win the tournament for the second straight 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 and kind of made a run at it. It was a good way to finish." Daly, who birdied the final two holes for a 5-under 67 to match Singh at 13-under 275, sent his drive on the first extra hole, the par-4 18th, into the water. Then, after a drop, Daly sent his third 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." Advertisement Jason Allred finished in a tie for 64th. The Ashland native eagled the third hole, but had bogeys on six of his last 17 holes to finish the day with a 77. He earned $10,500 to bring his career total to $152,304 for the season. Singh, who had only two birdies in his closing 70, calmly made a par for his 26th PGA Tour victory and second of the year. The 42-year-old Fijian earned $900,000 to pass Tiger Woods for second place on the money list with $3,836,413, just $6,043 behind leader Phil Mickelson. Singh also pushed his career total to $40.5 million, second only to Woods. Jose Maria Olazabal (70) finished third at 11 under, and Darren Clarke (67) and Greg Owen (72) tied for fourth at 10 under. Joe Oglivie (71) was next at 9 under, followed by six players at 8 under, including third-round co-leader Gavin Coles (75) and Jeff Maggert (71), who has finished second at this event three times. 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 just past the cup after a brilliant approach from the far right side to 8 feet of the flag. "I obviously thought Vijay would hit it in on 18," Daly said. "You don’t ever want anybody to miss a putt, but it was nice to get in a playoff to have another chance to win." Singh, who began the round tied with Coles for the lead at 11 under, had only two birdies in the final round — at the 14th and 15th holes. He had putting problems from the beginning. He missed a 4-footer at No. 2 and two-putted from 20 feet at No. 6. A 44-foot attempt on the par-3 fifth hole missed by 3 inches, but he stayed alive making 13 straight pars. He had a chance to break his birdie drought at the 12th hole, where he came out of the sand to 10 feet from the hole, but his birdie attempt rimmed the edge of the cup and stayed out. Finally at No. 14, a 6-footer found the hole and Singh was back in front. "I was putting well, the lines were just really difficult to read," Singh said. "I don’t think there’s any point where I felt like I wasn’t going to make a putt. "I made my birdies at the right time... But that’s where you have to have patience. I did that very well today." Daly, three shots off the lead going into play Sunday, had three birdies and two bogeys in the front nine, then made a birdie at No. 12, converting a 5-footer. At the 15th, a par 5, his drive went into the woods and he punched back to the fairway, then drilled his third shot to 4 feet to set up a birdie that gave him a share of the lead for the first time. Daly skipped his shot over the green at 16 but was able to come back for par. At 17, his approach got within 4½ feet of the flag and his birdie returned him to the lead with Singh. Moments later, however, Singh — playing three groups back — birdied No. 15. At the par-4 18th, Daly’s second shot landed 9 feet away prompting a roar from the crowd that grew even louder after he rolled it home for birdie to go to 13 under and ultimately force the playoff. "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." Coles, ranked 388th in the world, matched Singh, the world’s second-ranked player stroke for stroke as each parred the first seven holes. Coles finally stumbled at the par-4 11th, where he made a double bogey after his drive went far to the right into the woods and his second shot landed in the sand. A bogey at the 14th ended his chances. He ended up with a 75 to finish five shots back. Divots Singh is the first ever back-to-back winner of the Houston Open, the 10th-oldest event on the tour. ... Singh and Daly finished 1-2 last year in the Buick Open. ... Singh’s victory is his 14th since turning 40, second only to Sam Snead’s 17. 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