Vijay Singh has won the SAS Championship in North Carolina at the age of 63, beating Ernie Els by two shots for his first PGA Tour Champions title in three years.
The Fijian World Golf Hall of Famer shot 69 in all three rounds at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary to finish at 9 under par, Golfweek reported. Els, who also closed with a 69, finished second at 7 under, while Alex Cejka and Tag Ridings shared third at 6 under.
It is Singh’s sixth win on the over-50 circuit, and victory in the regular-season finale lifted him from 57th to 33rd in the Charles Schwab Cup points race, according to Golfweek. The top 72 in the standings go through to the first playoff event next week, and the top 36 after two playoff events reach the season-ending Schwab Cup final and are guaranteed their tour cards for 2027.
How Singh pulled clear
Singh started the final round in a three-way tie for the lead at 6 under with Tim O’Neal and Freddie Jacobson. He birdied the ninth and 10th to open a three-shot lead as both rivals stumbled around the turn, Jacobson with a bogey at the ninth and a double bogey at the 11th, and O’Neal with a double bogey at the ninth and a bogey at the 10th.
O’Neal hit back with three straight birdies from the 12th to the 14th, but Singh birdied the 12th himself to reach 9 under and then parred his way home. O’Neal’s hopes ended with a double bogey at the par-5 17th, and he finished in a share of fifth.
Read more: James Marchesani Wins WA Open With Bogey-Free 65
Grinding through the cold
Singh had to battle cold, wet and windy conditions in Saturday’s second round, which left him tied for the lead heading into the final day.
“It was a really tough day. I mean, I don’t like cold, and in the beginning when we started off it was cold, wind and rain, but I managed,” Singh said after that round, Triangle Sports Network reported. “My caddie did a good job, he kept me in there and telling me to focus, focus, focus, and that’s what you need in conditions like this.”
The three-time major champion and 34-time PGA Tour winner arrived at Prestonwood with a best finish of a tie for 11th this season. The top three in the Schwab Cup standings, Stewart Cink, Zach Johnson and Steven Alker, all skipped the event.
More News
