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 A masterly wedge shot on 12 keyed Vijay Singh's win at the Nelson, and his controlled power makes him my choice to win next month's U.S. Open
By T.J. Tomasi
Vijay Singh is often ribbed about his endless practice sessions, but the workouts prepare him to execute specialty shots under intense pressure. In a back-nine duel with Nick Price on Sunday at the Byron Nelson Championship, Singh stiffed a high-risk wedge shot on the 12th hole to set up a crucial birdie. Trailing Price by one stroke on the par-4 12th, Singh ripped a 325-yard drive, leaving 101 yards to a pin tucked on a ridge in the back-left corner of the green. His shot required a precise trajectory and backspin to land dead and not roll forward or spin back too far on the slick, baked-out putting surface. Most Tour players have the Popeye-like forearms and tremendous swing speed (up to 90 mph with a wedge) to hit such shots on the range, but few guys can execute such a delicate shot with a tournament on the line. Singh used a three-quarter swing and trapped the ball perfectly. It landed with a thud on a slope a couple of feet past the flagstick and trickled back toward the hole for a tap-in birdie (above) that put him back atop the leader board. Singh has never won a U.S. Open, but his mastery of the no-roll approach shot makes him my pick to prevail on Olympia Field's wicked greens.
T.J. Tomasi teaches at Lyman Orchards Golf Club in Middlefield, Conn., and and is one of Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teachers. Issue date: May 26, 2003
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Courtesy of CBS
