Vijay Singh tuned up for Winged Foot with a perfect U.S. Open-style round on the wind-swept Westchester Country Club course.
Patiently closing with a bogey-free 3-under-par 68, the three-time major champion won his record third Barclays Classic in Harrison, N.Y., on Sunday to end a 21-event winless streak.
“Playing the back nine, although I hit one or two bad shots, it did not bother me at all,” Singh said. “I just kept right in there and kept going. I knew the holes coming in were going to be tough. You can’t run away on this golf course. Every hole is a very testing hole.
“If I keep my head straight next week, I think I’ll be a big factor.”
Singh, a shot behind leader Billy Andrade after the third round, took a two-stroke lead over Brett Quigley with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 218-yard 16th and also birdied the par-5 18th to finish at 10-under 274 – two strokes ahead of Adam Scott.
“This gives me a lot of confidence,” Singh said. “It gives me the feeling that, hey, if I get in contention, I can finish it off.”
Also the 1993 and 1995 Barclays champion, Singh is the first three-time winner in the 40-year-old tournament and only the second player to win three PGA Tour titles on the Westchester course. Jack Nicklaus won the 1965 Thunderbird on the hilly, tree-lined layout and added Westchester Classic titles in 1967 and 1972.
The 43-year-old Fijian won for the first time since the Buick Open last July to raise his PGA Tour victory total to 29 and tie Sam Snead’s tour record for victories over 40 with 17. Singh won after failing to finish under par in his previous three tournaments, the first time he had done that in regular PGA Tour events since 1998.
“I was never worried about a win,” Singh said. “I was worried about the way I was playing. The pressure kind of mounted that way.
“My head was correct. I wasn’t getting angry with my game – not letting bad shots affect me like the last few weeks.”
Scott eagled the 18th – his second eagle of the day – for a 70, while Quigley shot his second straight 70 to join Andrade (72) at 7-under.
European Tour: Markus Brier became the first Austrian winner on the PGA European Tour, shooting a 3-under 68 to capture the BA-CA Austrian Open in Oberwaltersdorf by three strokes.
