AKRON, Ohio — Vijay Singh raised both hands over his head when he saw his 3 1/2-foot par putt swirl into the cup for a one-shot victory, a familiar sight for someone who has won 32 times on the PGA Tour.
This was more relief than celebration at the Bridgestone Invitational.
On the verge of throwing away a World Golf Championship, as Phil Mickelson had done ahead of him, Singh overcame some shaky putting Sunday on the back nine by making the only one that mattered.
Three times in the last year he had at least a share of the 54-hole lead and failed to finish it off. Needing two putts from 30 feet to end an 0-for-34 drought on the PGA Tour, the last thing he wanted was the kind of putt that has given him fits.
But he trusted the countless hours of practice he spent last week on such a putt, and it paid off.
With par putts on the final two holes, Singh closed with a 2-under-par 68 to hold off hard-charging Lee Westwood and Stuart Appleby and the fast-fading Mickelson, who lost a one-shot lead with three bogeys on his final four holes.
Footnotes.
Ji-Yai Shin won the Women’s British Open in Sunningdale, England, by three strokes after a final round 6-under 66.
The 20-year-old South Korean finished with an 18-under score of 270. Taiwan’s Yani Tseng (66) was second with a 15-under total of 273.
• Parker McLachlin shot a 2-over 74 and still claimed his first PGA Tour victory by seven strokes at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open in Nevada.
Brian Davis (75) and John Rollins (71) tied for second.
The Associated Press
