Support for Daly sparks Singh to Buick Open title

GRAND BLANC, Mich. -- A massive gallery roared when John Daly was introduced at the Buick Open's first tee, and just politely clapped for Vijay Singh in a preview of what was to come over the next four hours.

As they walked down the first fairway, Singh patted Daly on the back and both chuckled as fans hooted and hollered best wishes toward Daly.

Singh seemed to get a kick out of the rock-star like reception for Daly, and he later said it motivated him to win the tournament.

Singh outlasted Daly with a 5-under 67 Sunday to win the Buick Open at 23-under 265 for his fourth victory of the year and 19th of his career. Daly, vying for multiple wins in one year for the first time, finished a stroke back after shooting a 66 -- and bogeying the 18th hole.

"It was noisy, and the crowd was all for him, but it fired me up," Singh said. "The more they made noise, the more calm I became. I'm just growing up I guess and handling the pressure better."

Tiger Woods started the day three strokes behind Singh, and only pulled one stroke closer despite shooting a 66. He finished at 21 under, tied with Carlos Franco (67) for third.

"To play that well and not win is frustrating," said Woods, who will look to snap his streak without a major victory at nine at the PGA Championship in two weeks.

Defending champion Jim Furyk, who shared the second-round lead with Singh, finished tied for sixth at 17 under after shooting a 68 on Sunday.

Singh's bogey at 18 created an opportunity for Daly to force a playoff, but Daly was unable to take advantage of the break.

"I told him, 'You know, I'm sorry that somebody had to win,"' Singh said.

Singh is just the third two-time Buick Open champion, and the first since Julius Boros in 1967. Tony Lema won at Warwick Hills a second straight time in 1965.

Entering the tournament, Singh had 10 top-10 finishes this year. But since winning consecutive tournaments three months ago, he has just two top-five finishes and was tied for 28th at the U.S. Open and 20th at the British Open.

The Fijian played well this week after changing his putter, going back to a standard putter after using a long one for 2 1/2 years.

"The way I putted for the last two months, I could not possibly have putted worse," he said.

Singh also said earlier in the week that he stopped worrying about chasing Woods in the world rankings, where Woods is No. 1 and Singh is third.

Singh won his seventh straight tournament when he at least shared the lead after 54 holes, dating to the 2002 Shell Houston open.

The final round turned into virtual match play between Singh and Daly, one of the top golfers in the world against one of the most popular.

"It was a great match," Daly said. "We were in it all the way. I was either 1-up, or he was 1-up."

Singh was wild off the tee at times, but made a handful of shots over and around trees. His first drive landed in the 10th fairway, but unfazed by his blind shot over towering trees, Singh scrambled well enough to start with a birdie.

And Daly did, too.

Daly then made an eagle from 142 yards at the par-4 No. 2, causing the crowd to erupt with applause as he pulled into a tie at 19 under.

He took the lead with a birdie on the third hole and kept a one-shot lead until Singh's birdie at No. 12 knotted them up at 22 under.

"John put a lot of pressure on me early. I've never had that kind of a battle," Singh said.

Singh went ahead by a shot with a birdie at 14 -- to reach 23 under -- and was able to maintain a one-shot edge the rest of the way.

He got into trouble on the final hole, but his second shot out of the rough landed on the green close enough to set up a two-putt, which was just enough to win because Daly missed a 6-foot putt for par.

"It broke more than we thought it would have," Daly said.

Daly is an undisputed crowd favorite despite -- or perhaps because of -- his alcohol and personal problems, and his booming drives off the tee.

He has won five tournaments, including the 1991 PGA Championship at Crooked Stick where he came out of nowhere and quickly became a folk hero.

"This crowd reminded me of Crooked Stick all the way," Daly said. "It's been a long time since I was going from greens to tees giving high-fives and stuff."

Jerry Kelly (tied for eighth), Scott Verplank (tied for 10th) and Stewart Cink (alone in fifth) helped their chances of earning one of the 10 automatic spots on the Ryder Cup team, with just two more tournaments left to earn points.

Kelly moved into 10th, Verplank stayed in 12th and Cink went from 19th to 13th in the Ryder Cup standings.