Vijay Singh
Height: 6 ft. 2 in
Weight: 208 lbs
Birthday: 02/22/1963
College: –
Turned Pro: 1982
Birthplace: Lautoka, Fiji
Country: Fiji
Sponsor: Hopkins Golf
A member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, Vijay Singh is one of the most successful golfers of the last 20 years. He has won three Major Championships; the Masters (2000) and two PGA Championships (1998 & 2004). Singh was the number one golfer for a total of 32 weeks during 2004 and 2005. He is known as one of the hardest working players on Tour, both on and off the course.
The start of his career was very rocky. He received a lifetime ban from the Asian Tour in 1985 after an unsavoury incident in which it was alleged that Singh had intentionally lowered his score. He decided to ply his trade on the European Tour for a number of years. He won his first European event in 1989 in Italy and won a further three times that season with three of those events being held in Africa.
Vijay started playing on the PGA Tour in 1993 and quickly won his first event at the Buick Classic. He finished the season as Rookie of the Year and finished 19th on the money list. Up until his PGA Championship win in 1998, he had won a total of five times on the PGA Tour. His first Major win came at the Sahalee Country Club when he won by two shots. He won his second Major in 2000 when he won the US Masters by three shots.
He won four times in 2003, he finished in the top 10 18 times and amassed over $7.5 million in prize money. Singh’s 2004 season goes down as one of the most successful on Tour in recent years. He also won his third Major in 2004 at Whistling Straits. This topped off a season of nine wins and a record of $10.9 million in earnings. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2005 (youngest ever to be inducted).
He broke Sam Snead’s record of most wins over the age of 40 when he won the first ever FedEx Cup tournament, taking him to 18 wins after turning 40. Singh extensively changed his swing in 2008 and it resulted in him claiming the season ending FedEx Cup after winning three of the last five events.
Since his FedEx Cup win, his career has tailed off having not won since then. He brought a lawsuit against the PGA Tour after they ‘publicly humiliated’ him during their investigation of his use of deer antler spray which is a banned substance. Despite being 52, Singh still plays pre dominantly on the PGA Tour and has only played in four Champions Tour events.