The Loop

Singh's revival: 'There's not a lot of mystery to it'

February 17, 2011

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. -- Vijay Singh continues to show signs of playing like his old self, even as his self gets older; his 48th birthday is Tuesday.

He's also using all his accumulated knowledge to help boost more than his own game. Witness what he did for Bill Murray at last week's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. A few timely tips on the range from Singh and Murray was off and running to the pro-am title with D.A. Points, who also won the individual competition.

First, a word about the player still fighting to add to his 34 PGA Tour titles.

A 3-under-par 68 Thursday at Riviera CC in the first round of the Northern Trust Open is the latest sign of rejuvenation in the Hall of Famer from Fiji. It marked the ninth time in 15 rounds this year that Singh has broken 70. He ranks eighth in scoring average at 69.25.

"There's not a lot of mystery to it, really," said Singh, who has gone winless since 2008, the year he captured the FedExCup crown. "I am feeling healthy and I am getting my confidence back. It's not complicated when you put that together with making a few putts. You know, you can hit all the good shots you want, but you still have to score."

Now what about Singh the swing guru?

"I don't know that people should be making anything out of it," Singh said with a chuckle. "We were just practicing together, and I told him to do this and he did it. Then I said hit a little firmer with your left hand, and he started doing that. Then we moved the ball up in his stance just a little and that was it.

"He was chunking everything. It wasn't really all that much. I don't know how much I helped him when we were only hitting wedges."

Told that Murray was very complimentary of Singh and the input he received from the three-time major champion, Singh just shrugged. "Well, that's nice, but I don't think you're going to see me going out and start teaching or anything. That's it for my teaching career."

His playing career appears to have a lot of life left, however.

-- Dave Shedloski