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Great Athletes of the Twenty-First Century

Vijay Singh

by Theodore Shields

Born: February 22, 1963

Lautoka, Fiji

Also known as: The Big Fijian

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GOLF

Early Life

Vijay Singh was born in Lautoka, Fiji, on February 22, 1963. He came from modest beginnings. In fact, as a child, Singh practiced golfing with coconuts because his family could not afford to buy golf balls. Singh’s father, Mohan, was an airline technician. However, he also taught golf. Mohan helped Singh to mimic the swing of Tom Weiskopf, a golfer on the PGA Tour who had won the British Open. Weiskopf’s swing was the model through which Singh constructed his own swing. As a boy, Singh also pursued the other popular sports of his region, such as snooker, cricket, soccer, and rugby. However, golf was the activity at which he most excelled.

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The Road to Excellence

In 1982, Singh joined the Asian Tour. However, he did not win his first tournament until the 1984 Malaysian Open. Four years passed before Singh won another tournament. Unfortunately for Singh, his career ran into trouble. Singh allegedly doctored his scorecard in order to make the cut of an event. He was suspended from the Asian Tour and publicly embarrassed. He then took a job at a Malaysian golf club, saved money, and continued to practice and gain experience. Once he had saved enough money, he began entering tournaments again. In 1988, Singh won his second event, the Nigerian Open. Also in 1988, he entered the European Tour Qualify School and joined the European Tour. In 1989, he won four tournaments on the European Tour. He played on the tour for five years and won thirteen times. However, more than a decade passed before Singh had his breakthrough in the world of golf.

The Emerging Champion

In 1993, Singh brought his game to the American shore, joining the PGA Tour. He won the Buick Invitational and was named PGA rookie of the year. He was competitive but did not win often over the following five years. His first major victory came at the 1998 PGA Championship. Then, in 2000, he won The Masters. In 2001, he began to gain a reputation as the hardest working man on the PGA Tour. He played every week, and he usually played well. While he did not win any tournaments in the 2001 season, he had fourteen top-ten finishes, which landed him at number four on the money list for the year. In 2002, he won twice, at the Shell Houston Open and at the Tour Championship. Those victories were the beginning of an amazing few years for Singh.

In 2003, Singh had his most successful year. He won four tournaments and had an amazing eighteen top-ten finishes. For the first time in his career, he was the number-one player on the PGA money list, with the second highest total in PGA history. His ability to win tournaments and to be competitive in the ones he did not win, propelled him into rarified air.

If the golf world was impressed with Singh’s gritty performance in 2003, it had to be amazed by his excellence in 2004. That year, Singh won an astounding nine tournaments and had eighteen top-ten finishes. He was number one on the money list again, earning a record $10,905,166. He had twelve consecutive top-ten finishes, which was the most by any golfer since 1975. He ended the year winning his second major tournament, the PGA Championship. Most significant, he took control of the number-one ranking from Tiger Woods. In twenty-two hard fought years, Singh had gone from an unknown rookie on the Asian Tour to the number-one golfer in the world.

Continuing the Story

During the 2005 season, Singh and Woods traded the number-one ranking back and forth; Woods ended on top. However, Singh had made his mark. In April of 2005, he was elected into the World Golf Hall of Fame. His induction made him the youngest living member of the hall. With eighteen wins, Singh had more than any other man in PGA history after turning forty.

In 2008, Singh was ranked number three in the world, behind Woods and Phil Mickelson. He figured to remain a force in the world of golf for years to come. With his persistence and constant training he was certain to make another run at the number-one ranking.

Summary

Vijay Singh influenced the golf world immensely. With hard work and dedication, he was able to accomplish his goals. Though he was disgraced and suspended from the Asian Tour as a young golfer, he was later the number-one ranked golfer on the PGA Tour. He was, perhaps, the most consistent golfer of his generation.

Additional Sources

1 

Mizell, Hubert. “Experience a Good Teacher.” St. Petersburg Times, April 10, 2000.

2 

Rees, Peter. “Golf’s Humble Fijian: Vijay’s Rise to Number One.” Pacific Magazine (November 1, 2004).

3 

Spander, Art. “Singh Hits Top Note but Stays Man of Mystery.” The Daily Telegraph, December 31, 2004.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Shields, Theodore. "Vijay Singh." Great Athletes of the Twenty-First Century,Salem Press, 2018. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Ath21C_0397.
APA 7th
Shields, T. (2018). Vijay Singh. Great Athletes of the Twenty-First Century. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Shields, Theodore. "Vijay Singh." Great Athletes of the Twenty-First Century. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2018. Accessed December 14, 2025. online.salempress.com.