Vijay Singh's Win Gives Him Commanding Lead in FedEx Cup Playoffs

He keeps telling himself he's the greatest putter in the world.  On this day, Vijay Singh was. 

After three days of struggling with putts over 10 feet, Vijay found his range in the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship by making three putts over 35 feet on the back nine in route to victory.

The hot putter enabled Singh to cruise to a 63 for the round and a 22-under-par 262 total for a five-stroke win over Mike Weir in second.

The long putts on the back nine actually gave Singh more total feet of putts made in the final round (175) than during the first three rounds combined (157).

When asked if he really was the greatest putter in the world, Vijay responded, "You better believe it, you saw it...Finally when they start going in, you know, you kind of believe it."

The victory gives Vijay Singh a commanding 12,225-point lead over second-place Sergio Garcia in the FedEx Cup Standings.  If Vijay were to finish last and Sergio wins the upcoming BMW Championship, Vijay would still lead the FedEx Cup going into the final FedEx Cup Playoff event, the Tour Championship.

That's the last thing on the hard-working Fijian's mind though. When asked about the next event, Singh appropriately responded, "I'm going to go out and play really hard.  If I can have another win, that'd be the icing on the cake."

Vijay was dead on.  If he wins the BMW Championship, he clinches the FedEx Cup and the accompanying $10 million prize before the Tour Championship even begins.

The biggest threat to Singh in these playoffs appears to be Garcia.  But three bogeys and a double bogey on the back nine today gave Garcia a one-over-par 72 and dropped him into a tie for fifth for the tournament.

Other players displaying the consistency that will be required to overtake Singh are Mike Weir, Justin Leonard, and Jim Furyk.  These players, along with Garcia and Singh, are the only ones to finish in the top 12 in both playoff events. 

Those five players make up the top five in the current FedEx Cup Standings, a strong indication that the revamped points system has rewarded strong play in the playoffs over regular season success.

But nothing else matters if Singh finds a way to win one of the final two events.

FedEx Cup Standings

1. Vijay Singh...........120,500

2. Sergio Garcia........108,275

3. Mike Weir.............106,965

4. Justin Leonard......105,388

5. Jim Furyk.............104,230

6. Kevin Sutherland...104,065

7. Anthony Kim.........104,019

8. Phil Mickelson.......103,951