Singh stays on roll, wins at Sony Open

HONOLULU -- Vijay Singh heard a massive roar coming from the 18th hole, and a glance at the leaderboard confirmed what he already suspected -- Ernie Els had made an eagle to tie for the lead in the Sony Open.

Singh had six holes left to make no mistakes and one birdie.

He kept Els and everyone else in suspense until the end.

Capping off a flawless final round, Singh hammered a 300-yard drive on the par-5 closing hole to set up a routine birdie from the edge of the green, giving him a 5-under 65 and a one-shot victory Sunday.

"The 18th hole owed me," said Singh, who had not made a birdie there all week. "I hit a great drive, and that set me up. It's a tough driving hole for me. I could take another bucket of balls and not be able to hit that shot."

Singh finished at 11-under 269 for a one-shot victory over Els, who made a valiant bid at winning an unprecedented third straight title at Waialae Country Club.

Seemingly out of contention, the Big Easy holed a 10-foot birdie on the 16th, stuffed a 6-iron into 3 feet on the 17th and then reached the 551-yard 18th hole with a 3-iron and made an 18-footer to tie the course record with a 62.

"I always felt it was going to be just a little shy," Els said. "But I still had a great day."

Singh did not celebrate until Shigeki Maruyama failed to make eagle on the final hole. The Japanese star closed with a 71 to tie for third with Charles Howell III (67).

It was the earliest Singh has won on the PGA Tour, and it came at a good time.

Expectations were higher than ever coming off a nine-win season that vaulted him to No. 1 in the world ranking. And he was feeling the pressure from last week, when he snap-hooked a tee shot on the 13th hole in the final round and took triple bogey, ultimately costing him a chance to win the season-opening Mercedes Championships.

"This takes a lot of pressure off me," he said. "If I had not won one, like I let one go last week, I would be tensing up as the weeks go by. But this is a load off my back. I can go relax and play. I think it's going to be a great year."

Singh played bogey-free on another windy day at Waialae, and he had to on the back nine. He got into the lead with a two-putt birdie on No. 9, then a deft bunker shot around a coconut tree to 18 feet for birdie on No. 10, and a bold 7-iron to 10 feet right of the flag on the 11th.

But the key was the 14th, when Singh ran a 60-foot birdie putt about 8 feet by the hole. He made that one to stay tied with Els, biding time until he got to the 18th, where he two-putted from the fringe.

Singh won for the 25th time in his career, and picked up his 20th different PGA Tour trophy. Tiger Woods has won at 21 various tournaments with 40 career victories.

Singh was a forgotten figure until he had a lei around his neck and the trophy in his hand.

First came 15-year-old Michelle Wie, who was the talk of the tournament for two days until she missed the cut with rounds of 74-75. Then came Maruyama, a popular figure with so many Japanese fans in Hawaii giving him the royal treatment when he took a one-shot lead into the final round.

In the end, it was a familiar figure at the top.

It was the second straight week the winner came from four shots behind. Stuart Appleby closed with a 67 to win last week in the Mercedes Championships.

And just like last week, it required a series of mistakes along the back nine.

Maruyama had a one-shot lead until he missed the fairway on No. 12 on took bogey, then went long on the 14th and made a 10-foot bogey putt to limit the damage.

Brett Quigley, trying to win for the first time in 221 starts on the PGA Tour, also bogeyed the 14th and lost his last shred of hope by missing a 4-foot par putt on the 17th. He shot a 71 to tie for fifth with Stewart Cink (65) at 272.

Maruyama faced pressure from trying to protect a tenuous lead, and from the large Japanese gallery that hung on every shot he hit, even the tap-ins. The crowd was so large that a marshal asked those next to the rope around the second green to sit down so the throng coming up the fairway could see.

Even more amazing was that everyone obeyed, quickly taking a knee.

But the cheers turned to moans when Maruyama missed a 6-foot birdie on the fourth, then a 3-foot par putt on the sixth to fall back into a share of the lead.

It wasn't long before it got crowded at the top -- at one point, four players were tied for the lead at 10 under.

But as the round headed to a conclusion, only one man kept hitting every fairway and giving himself a birdie chance on every hole. It was Singh, the same guy collecting all the trophies last year.

"He's at the top of his game," Els said. "You can't think of him faltering."

Divots: Paul Azinger was one shot out of the lead until he was caught between clubs, went long on No. 6 and made double bogey. He shot a 74 to tie for 17th. ... Craig Stadler closed with a 67 to easily finish as low Champions Tour player in the field at 6-under 274. Peter Jacobsen (68) finished at 278, while Dick Mast (75) was at 282 and Tom Kite (75) was at 286. Mast, who got in as a Monday qualifier, was headed for San Diego overnight to try to Monday qualify for the Buick Invitational.