Vijay Singh has it his way

IT takes all kinds to win the Masters. For all the talk of change at Augusta National, the Masters simply remained one of the World's ultimate tests of golf - and winner Vijay Singh showed exquisite timing in taking top honours. Acres of new rough, the shrinking of Augusta's vast fairways and the irresistible force of Tiger Woods dominated discussion ahead of the season's first major championship.

But in the playing, that all became besides the point as honours in the 64th edition of the Masters went to Vijay Singh, who lived up to the Hindi meaning of his given name - victory.

Half a world away from the rainforest in Borneo where he once toiled as a teaching pro, Vijay Singh demonstrated the beauty of the Masters.

Winners are not cut from the same cloth. Putters and power- hitters rub elbows every year at the champions dinner. Tiger Woods and Fred Couples share the champions' club house with Ben Crenshaw and Jose Maria Olazabal.

Vijay soared with his own specific formula for success: hit greens and talk yourself into believing your dodgy putting stroke will be good enough. It was.

He led the weekend's 57 players in greens in regulation and tied for 45th in putting, taking more putts (124) than any Masters winner in the last 20 years.

Defeat had to be explained by the long-hitting likes of Woods, David Duval and Ernie Els - and Loren Roberts, who tied for third with Duval, one shot behind Els and one ahead of Woods.

Roberts, ``the boss of the moss'', took the fewest putts (108), while finishing 54th in driving distance, 50 yards behind the average of 300 logged by Woods. Singh rose to the occasion.

When the 37-year-old needed to scramble, he got up and down. When David Duval was throwing birdies at him, he matched him three times in a row. Duval fell from the fight when he failed to reach the par-5 13th and splashed in the creek.

When his pursuers were unable to take a giant step towards him by eagling any of the par-5s, Vijay virtually closed the deal by drilling his second shot into prime position on the green at the par-5 15th to set up a two-putt birdie.

Vijay Singh's victory, the second by a coloured man in the Masters following Wood's runaway win in 1997, came on the 25th anniversary of Lee Elder's becoming the first black man to play in the Masters in 1975.

Masters 2000 was also graced by another rousing showing by the wondrous Jack Nicklaus.

The 60-year-old Nicklaus, who missed last year's Masters after having a hip replaced, opened with 74-70 to stand tied for 18th to the delight of the massive galleries.

The wicked winds crushed the Golden Bear's hopes for more glory at Augusta, but Nicklaus revelled in providing another lesson about the game's appeal.

``Golf is a young man's sport, a middle-age man's sport and an old man's sport,'' said six-time champion Nicklaus. Fast starters and slow starters alike made impressive gains in the tournament.

Masters warrior Greg Norman, battered by disappointment so many times in the past, posted a startling 80 in the first round but finished 68-70-70 to tie for 11th place at even par.

Carlos Franco of Paraguay made it all the way to a tie for seventh place after starting with a 79.

Surprise first-round leader Dennis Paulson faded after his opening 68 but did not disappear.

The former long-drive champion shot a final-round 72 to finish tied for 14th and guaranteed himself a return to the Masters as one of the top 16 finishers.

Even a respectable showing can leave a competitor torn up about missed chances at the Masters.

Davis Love finished tied for seventh, but the Georgia native revealed how the Masters, and the pressure of winning the Masters, affects him. ``I'm making myself sick out there everyday, and everyone else is, too,'' said Love, who was runner- up for a second time in the Masters last year.

``I haven't slept very well. I've gotten literally physically ill a couple of times on the golf course because I know I'm playing great and I'm not getting the job done. It's still very, very hard to control your emotions playing out there.''

Love said he wants to win at Augusta so badly that his young son 0has ventured some advice.

``Even my six-year-old boy watching the highlights, he says, ``what place are you in?'' Love related. ``I said 40th or 50th. He said, ``you were in second last time I watched you. Why don't you stay after this year and practice so you can do better.''

``I mean, he can feel how much I want it.''

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