Singh shoots course record

Norton, Massachusetts:

All that hard work finally paid off for Vijay Singh, who shot the best round of his US PGA Tour career and put himself in position to end another streak by Tiger Woods at the Deutsche Bank Championship on Sunday. Singh played his first five holes in 5 under par, then finished with three straight birdies for a 10-under 61 to set the course record at the TPC of Boston and build a three-shot lead over Woods, who shot 67. Two years ago, Singh went toe-to-toe with Woods in the final round on Labor Day and beat him by three shots to rise to No. 1, ending Woods' record 264 consecutive weeks atop the world ranking. Woods now has won four straight times on the US PGA Tour, and Singh is poised to end that streak. "It would be good," Singh said. "I'm not going to be thinking about his streak or beating him. I've been playing long enough to know that you don't go out there and worry about the guys who are playing with you. You worry about your own game and see what happens." There were no worries on Sunday. Even more impressive than his score were the miserable conditions in which Singh shot his 61. A light rain at the start of the third round never let up, coating the fairways with a thin layer of moisture, making it difficult to keep clubs dry. With little wind, however, Singh took dead aim at the flags and was never too far off. "This is one of the worst conditions you want to play golf in because it gets everything wet," Singh said. "I just kept on plodding." And he kept making birdies, finishing at 11-under 202. Woods had a chance to get closer, if not catch him over the final two hours after Singh was done. Woods missed four birdie putts inside 15 feet on the back nine, including putts of 10 feet on No. 15 and 8 feet on No. 17. He looked out of sync over the closing holes, letting his hand fly from the club even on shots that turned out well. There was frustration even when he reached the par-5 18th in two, setting up a two-putt birdie that put him in the final group with Singh. (AP)