BETHESDA, Md. — Vijay Singh still pounds golf balls on the range as much as anyone on the planet, his love for the game and his search for more hardware measured in each shot he takes.
Despite celebrating his 50th birthday three years ago and being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame 10 years ago, and despite his 34 PGA Tour titles, all the aches and pains associated with the unrelenting march of time and his relentless attack on buckets of balls, he knows he can hang with the younger set on the PGA Tour.
So there Singh was on the driving range Friday on a stifling day north of the nation’s capital, sending one ball after another toward the horizon shortly after taking up residence on the first page of the leaderboard through two rounds of the Quicken Loans National at Congressional Country Club. At 53, the Big Fijian can become the oldest winner on the PGA Tour – Sam Snead was 52, 10 months, 8 days when he won the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open.
But he isn’t focused on setting a record. He’s fixated on his swing and the demanding Blue Course at Congressional.
“It would be a good thing to win. I haven't won in, gosh, eight years, nine years,” Singh said after his sparkling 5-under-par 66, a round that included eight birdies to offset two early bogeys and another on his last hole when he got shin-high in a water trap by the 18th green to hit a shot. He’s at 8 under 134 and trails Jon Rahm and Billy Hurley III by three shots.
“But I'm not thinking about that right now,” Singh added. “It would be good to win (any tournament) but it’s only halfway, so I have to focus on my game tomorrow and see what happens.”
The three-time major winner hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since the 2008 Deutsche Bank Championship, some 181 starts ago. His best finish in 15 starts this season is a tie for sixth in the Honda Classic. He’s also made two starts on the Champions Tour, a tie for eighth his best showing.
Yet he still comes out to play the toughest tour in the world. He could have gone fulltime on the Champions Tour when he turned 50, but the lure of beating the flat bellies on the PGA Tour has limited him to eight starts on the Champions Tour. The winless streak and the page turns on the calendar are mounting, but Singh moves on without a hint of exasperation.
And while he hasn’t spoken publicly about his lawsuit against the PGA Tour, there’s no suggestion that the dispute is taking a toll on his game. In 2013, Singh charged the Tour violated its duty of care and good faith.
According to the lawsuit, the Tour exposed Singh “to public humiliation and ridicule for months” during a 12-month investigation and he’s seeking damages. The lawsuit alleges the Tour “failed competently and responsibly to administer its own Anti-Doping Program.” The Tour suspended Singh for 90 days after he admitted to Sports Illustrated to using deer-antler spray without knowing it contained traces of a banned growth hormone.
The Tour dropped the suspension after learning the World Anti-Doping Agency did not consider the spray “prohibited, per se,” but Singh contends the investigation should never have become public.
The case is still ongoing. And Singh is still going and going and going.
“I'm driving the ball well. You know, and putting well,” Singh said after his second round. “My iron shots have been good all week as well. … I have to drive the ball and I think I'm going to focus on the driving. And putting well, which is good to do around here. Anytime you putt well, that's key for me. ...
“So the whole game is together, I just have to keep it going and focus on what I'm doing and I think I'll be OK.”
