Friday, June 29, 2012

Vijay Singh at the 2012 ATT National



Vijay Singh, The Big Fijan, ended the first round of the 2012 AT&T National tied for second place at three under par.  When I think of Vijay Singh, the first thing that comes to mind is not only his remarkable success, but his longevity on the PGA tour.  At 49 years, he has amassed one of the greatest records in PGA history.  Here are just a few stats:

  • Overtook Tiger Woods in 2004 at the top of the World Golf Rankings which he held until March 2005.  He regained his #1 ranking just two weeks later after three consecutive wins.
  • In 2005 he became the youngest living player to be elected to the hall of fame.
  • In 2007 he won The Mercedes Benz Championship giving him 18 wins over the age of 40 - surpassing Sam Snead and making him the all time leader of wins over the age of 40.  His record now stands at 22.
  • In 2008 he won the FEDEX cup, topped the money winning list and became the leader in all time PGA wins for a non-American.
  • He is the second man to exceed all time tour earnings of $60 million behind Tiger Woods.
  • 540 weeks in the top 10 of the World Golf Rankings.
  • In 2011, he missed his tee-time at the U.S. open ending the longest streak of consecutive majors played by a professional golfer at 67.
This short list of accomplishments (far from complete) paints the picture of Vijay Singh as one of the greats.  And quite honestly, I love seeing the elder statesmen of the sport continue to perform at an exceptional level of play.  I play golf. I watch golf. I eat, breath, and sleep golf.  However, as I walked the lush fairways of Congressional Country Club, I saw herds of "kids" playing the game.  Names I did not recognize.  It made me wonder - will any of these kids come close to the longevity and success of Vijay Singh?



I wish Vijay the best through the rest of the tournament.  However, with only one round in the bag and only five strokes differentiating the top 29 players, anything could happen.



Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

1 comment: