Singh the Swing

strikes a comeback

Determination and persistence is what it's all about for Vijay Singh as he defies all odds to win the Buick Classic

By Atama Raganivatu

Fijian golfer Vijay Singh’s recent success at the Buick Classic tour nament at Harrison, New York, marked the latest chapter in one of the most extraordinary comeback stories in modem sport.

Singh is now ranked amongst the world’s top 20, yet just a few short years ago he was disgraced and penniless, bare ly scraping a living as resident profession al at a club in a remote comer of Borneo.

It is a tribute, above all else, to Singh’s incredible single-mindedness that he is where he is today and if it were not for his determination he would never have embarked upon a professional career.

Vijay’s father, a technician at Nadi airport, Fiji, had once attempted to make a living from golf and failed miserably. He was, therefore, loathe to see his son travel down the same unhappy road and many were the arguments when Singh junior discarded homework and sneaked away to the local golf course.

The course was a rudimentary nine hole one adjacent to the airport. Even as a teenager, Vijay found that his drives out stripped the length of the fairways there and, when safe to do so, would smash balls down the airport runway.

Pacific Harbour offered a greater chal lenge when it was opened and here Singh first began to show himself as being more than just a capable amateur. After winning several local tournaments, he graduated to the Asian professional tour. It was a sober ing experience for him.

The young “rookie” struggled desper ately in Asia. Despite his most earnest efforts, he could not string together any respectable rounds and prize cheques were small in value and few in number. Just when it appeared as if Singh had reached

rock bottom, fate produced a bombshell that would have destroyed the aspirations of lesser mortals but which today must be acknowledged as the catalyst dial made him.

Playing in Indonesia, Singh was dis covered to have claimed one shot less on his scorecard than he had actually achieved and unceremoniously banned from all competitive golf. To this day, he remains bitter about the episode and adamant that it resulted from an innocent and fully explainable error on his behalf and only an Indonesian dignitary’s pig headedness prevented his penalty being nothing more than a token fine.

Only his inability to match the proficiency of the greats at putting has prevented him from capturing golf’s most coveted titles

But Singh found himself suspended from tournament play and a near-pariah throughout the golfing world. Rather than abandon his dreams, as most would have done, he decided to continue in the game in a non-competing capacity, though ren dered almost unemployable. When he did finally find work, it was as the profession al at a club deep in the heart of east Malaysian state of Sarawak. Here, between giving golfing lessons to timber and oil company executives, he practised for hours on end. The powerfully built Fijian now had an added reason to succeed - the desire to restore his pride.

When the suspension ended, he did not return to the Asian circuit. His previous ordeal there was too bitter. Africa’s Safari Tour both marked Singh’s competitive rebirth and provided him with a first pro fessional win. Since then, he has not looked back. During the intervening years, victories have come regularly in Europe and North America.

A fierce determination has always been the Singh hallmark and that is reflected in the countless hours he spends practising.

That unending honing of skill has pro duced one of the best actions in contempo rary golf and, with it, the nickname “Singh the Swing”.

Few players hit the ball further off the tee. Unfortunately, he is less efficient on the greens. Only his inability to match the proficiency of the greats at putting has pre vented him from capturing any of golf’s four most coveted titles - the Majors (the British Open, American PGA Championship, the US Open and the Masters). But, there is reason to believe that at least one of these glittering prizes will soon be his.

Singh has, of late, been spending a greater proportion of his practise time on the putting green and the win in Harrison suggests that this is paying dividends.

Hopefully, Fiji’s greatest sporting moment is not too far away.

Singh has a love-hate relationship with his native country. He very rarely returns home and only occasionally represents her in international competitions, yet he has often expressed yearnings to earn suffi cient money to buy a private island in Fiji and retire there and appears genuine when stating a wish to aid the next generation of Fijian golfers.

An introvert with very few interests beyond golf, Singh remains resolute in his determination to become the best player in the world. If he fails, it certainly will not be for lack of effort. ■