There's a Singh in the headlines on the sports pages of Monday's editions of the Daily Post of Fiji. The national soccer team is gearing up for a heated showdown with New Caledonia, and coach Billy Singh is worried that the smallish Fiji squad will have its share of problems shutting down New Caledonia's attacking style on offense and its ability to score goals in bunches.
That it was close to 9 o'clock local time Monday morning in the Republic of Fiji when the final round of the Masters Tournament concluded early Sunday evening in Augusta likely had some bearing in the minds of newspaper editors who chose not to make Vijay Singh the day's top story.
But wasn't that the same Singh whose name was atop the leaderboard at the Augusta National Golf Club when play ended on Saturday? Wasn't that same Singh - the son of the former club champion at the Nadi Airport Golf Course near his hometown - leading the field by three strokes at the year's first major championship?
You would think that a man from this tiny Polynesian nation qualifying to play in the Masters would be enough to attract the national spotlight. You would think that being in contention for his first green jacket, one of the sporting world's most coveted prizes, would cause a bit of an uproar in the streets, or at the very least in the sports pages.
But the story of Vijay Singh's run at his first Masters title was little more than an afterthought. It was Billy Singh, no relation, and the republic's upstart soccer club that was the topic of many a heated discussion around the water coolers of Fiji on Monday.
``Vijay has become very prominent in Fiji, especially in the last three or four years, and has made an impact on golf in our country,'' says Mike Henz, secretary-treasurer of the Fiji Golf Association. He has known Singh since the 1970s.
``But I think that we all wish he would come to our country a bit more often than he does. He doesn't spend an awful lot of time here, and perhaps there isn't as much of an interest in what he does as there could be. If he did come back here more often, Vijay could have an even greater impact than he already does.''
By the time Singh was 16 years old, he was making an impact on the Fiji amateur circuit, winning island competitions with his prodigious long drives.
He learned the game from his father, Mohan Singh, a refueler at the Nadi International Airport on the west coast of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest and most populous island.
It was there the young Singh began a practice routine that has become his trademark. Today, he is the James Brown of the PGA Tour, the hardest working man in golf, one who spends countless hours on the practice tee alone, hitting bagful after bagful of balls until it is too dark to see.
That work ethic was forged on the picturesque 18-hole airport course, where the young Singh would race after school for hours of practice with only the mango trees to keep him company and shade him from the blistering-hot sun.
``I was fortunate because, in Fiji, golf is like cricket over here,'' Singh says, referring to the marginal interest in golf in Fiji. ``My dad was a pretty keen golfer. Without him starting me, I would have never been here or learned how to play. A lot of the credit goes to him for giving me a golf stick.''
While his craft may have been honed in Fiji - an archipelago with a population of around 750,000 and around 12 golf courses - the 37-year-old Singh seems content to leave it at that. One of the most private golfers on tour, he prefers independence, keeping no known close friendships or emotional ties with anyone other than his wife, Ardena, and their 9-year-old son, Qass Seth.
The Singhs split their time between Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., and London, and it has been two years since Singh has returned home to Fiji, where two of his brothers - Krishna (who plays the Asian tour) and Mira (who recently opened a golf shop in Nadi) - live today.
Part of his estrangement from Fiji is because he is not an indigenous Fijian, but of Indian roots. His grandfather came from India in the early 1900s to work Fiji's cane fields.
Singh also spends less time in Fiji since his father moved to New Zealand and his mother relocated to Australia.
And then there are the allegations of cheating on the Asian Tour in 1983 and his subsequent suspension in 1985, which resulted in two years in exile as a club pro in the rain forests of Borneo.
But it was during this exile that Singh transformed into the world-class golfer he is today.
``It was really hard - 100 degrees every day, no matter if it was raining or sun shining,'' Singh says. ``That's where we lived for two years. I'd give about five, six lessons a day and just practice in the meantime. I just wanted to get back on tour and spent two years trying to earn a living doing that.''
Singh eventually escaped and landed in Africa, joining the Safari Tour in 1987, where he first met his present coach, Farid Quedra of Algeria. Singh credits Quedra for helping to construct the fluid, powerful swing he employs today, the one that has produced two major championships - the PGA at Sahalee in 1998 and now his first Masters title.
The question remains whether Singh will return to Fiji and once again embrace his homeland.
``I hope they are celebrating,'' says Singh. ``It will be nice going back soon and to meet and celebrate with old friends.''
Fiji's headlines ignore native's win