Singh holds off Els, wins first Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Vijay Singh once found refuge in the remote rain forests of Borneo. On Sunday at the Masters, he took his place among the stars.

First came an early charge from Tiger Woods, then a relentless challenge from David Duval. In the end, Singh calmly held off Ernie Els to complete an improbable journey that brought him his second major championship in three years.

"This is something I think you can't beat," Singh said shortly after slipping a size 46 green jacket over his broad shoulders.

No one knows better than Singh.

Banished from two tours, he started his comeback in 1985 by taking a club pro job at Keningau Club, where he toiled for $160 a month and pounded balls in every free moment. He lived in a one-bedroom apartment and had no idea how he was going to make his way back to big-time golf, let alone Augusta National.

"It was a struggle, but it was a peaceful struggle," said the 37-year-old Fiji native. "I wouldn't swap that for now."

Now, he has as many majors as Woods and Els. He carved out a place alongside Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, names he knew only from the videotapes he watched of past Masters.

"We didn't have live TV in Fiji," he said.

The tiny South Pacific country has a reason to celebrate now.

Singh rolled in an 18-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 3-under 69, kissed the ball as he removed it from the cup and embraced his family. His 9-year-old son, Qass, had taped a message to his bag that said, "Papa, Trust Your Swing!"

He did, following those directions better than anyone else.

Singh finished with a three-stroke victory over Els, $828,000 for his eighth career victory and another major that validates him as one of the game's top players.

"Winning this one gives me confidence that I can win a lot more," Singh said.

Els, a two-time U.S. Open champion, couldn't get a birdie putt to fall on the last three holes and was at 281.

The biggest threat came from Duval, in contention on the back nine Sunday at Augusta for the third straight year. His dreams died with a risky shot that wound up in Rae's Creek for a bogey on the par-5 13th, the easiest hole at Augusta.

Duval had a 70 and finished third along with Loren Roberts.

Woods, trying to pull off the greatest 36-hole comeback in Masters history, got within three of the lead but played even-par on the back and finished fifth, six strokes back.

"I was so focused on what I was doing," Singh said. "It meant a lot."

And it showed when last year's winner, Jose Maria Olazabal, helped him slip into the coveted green jacket.

"It feels great," a beaming Singh said.

Singh played tours on five continents and was banned from two of them, one because of allegations that he doctored his scorecard to miss the cut. He has long denied the charge, but it has haunt him since.

"I don't think anyone should be surprised that Vijay Singh won this golf tournament," Duval said. "He's a wonderful player."

He proved it on the back nine at Augusta, where so many Masters are decided. For Singh, Sunday morning was just as critical as Sunday afternoon.

With frost melting into dew, he returned to the course to complete his third round and made two critical par putts that enabled him to maintain his three-stroke cushion over Duval.

That paid dividends later in the day, when Singh managed to escape danger twice without losing his lead.

DAVID KATZ/Daily

The Wolverines haven't congratulated each other often enough lately. They dropped two Big Ten matches in a row this past weekend, to Indiana and Purdue.