Vijay Singh is 47 now, with a little more salt than pepper in his beard. In three years, he will be old enough to play on the Champions Tour, wind down his career and spend more time with his family.
Or not.
"I'm really not looking forward to even talking about the Champions Tour now," Singh said Thursday, shortly after firing a 3-under 67 in the first round of the Honda Classic, leaving him in a tie for sixth place.
"I'm not looking forward to 50. It's a long ways from now. I'm 47 and I feel healthy."
It had been a while since Singh could say that.
The surgery he had in January 2009 didn't fully repair torn cartilage in his right knee. The knee was such a problem throughout the '09 season that he couldn't even bend down to read a putt. He also developed a back injury because he was trying to compensate for his knee.
The result was his worst professional season since his rookie year of 1992. He finished 68th on the 2009 PGA Tour money list and went winless for the first time since 2001.
"Last year was, I don't know how else I can say it, was a big downer for me," said Singh, a former winner of the Masters (2000) and PGA Championship (1998 and 2004). "I had a lot of injuries that I had to deal with, and not playing well kind of made it even worse."
But a second surgery in December fixed his knee. A newfound commitment to exercise reinvigorated his spirits.
"I got a great trainer that's worked really hard in getting me in shape," said Singh, who in 2004 briefly wrested the world's No. 1 ranking away from Tiger Woods. "It's nice to be fit and ready to go."
Singh, a native of Fiji who lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, hasn't finished higher than 33rd in any of his four previous events this year, and was eliminated in the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championships two weeks ago, but he certainly got off to a nice start Thursday at PGA National.
Singh carded four birdies despite the blustery conditions, and hit 15 of 18 greens, the second-best success rate among the 144 golfers in the field. Singh's only blip was a bogey on 16, which he quickly erased with a birdie on 17.
Playing partner Nathan Green, the first-round co-leader at 65, was suitably impressed.
"You sort of don't realize he's 47 when you're playing with him," said Green, 34. "The shape he's in, he's pretty much equivalent to any of the guys out here in their 30s. He's looking after himself and reaping those rewards."
Singh, who has 34 career victories on the PGA Tour, owns the record for most wins over age 40 — he has 23. But he knows he can no longer rely on skill alone.
"I guess nowadays players are a little more into exercising and really taking care of what their physique should look like," he said. "You go in the gym, I was in there this morning at 5 — there were three pro guys in there with me."
Or not.
"I'm really not looking forward to even talking about the Champions Tour now," Singh said Thursday, shortly after firing a 3-under 67 in the first round of the Honda Classic, leaving him in a tie for sixth place.
"I'm not looking forward to 50. It's a long ways from now. I'm 47 and I feel healthy."
It had been a while since Singh could say that.
The surgery he had in January 2009 didn't fully repair torn cartilage in his right knee. The knee was such a problem throughout the '09 season that he couldn't even bend down to read a putt. He also developed a back injury because he was trying to compensate for his knee.
The result was his worst professional season since his rookie year of 1992. He finished 68th on the 2009 PGA Tour money list and went winless for the first time since 2001.
"Last year was, I don't know how else I can say it, was a big downer for me," said Singh, a former winner of the Masters (2000) and PGA Championship (1998 and 2004). "I had a lot of injuries that I had to deal with, and not playing well kind of made it even worse."
But a second surgery in December fixed his knee. A newfound commitment to exercise reinvigorated his spirits.
"I got a great trainer that's worked really hard in getting me in shape," said Singh, who in 2004 briefly wrested the world's No. 1 ranking away from Tiger Woods. "It's nice to be fit and ready to go."
Singh, a native of Fiji who lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, hasn't finished higher than 33rd in any of his four previous events this year, and was eliminated in the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championships two weeks ago, but he certainly got off to a nice start Thursday at PGA National.
Singh carded four birdies despite the blustery conditions, and hit 15 of 18 greens, the second-best success rate among the 144 golfers in the field. Singh's only blip was a bogey on 16, which he quickly erased with a birdie on 17.
Playing partner Nathan Green, the first-round co-leader at 65, was suitably impressed.
"You sort of don't realize he's 47 when you're playing with him," said Green, 34. "The shape he's in, he's pretty much equivalent to any of the guys out here in their 30s. He's looking after himself and reaping those rewards."
Singh, who has 34 career victories on the PGA Tour, owns the record for most wins over age 40 — he has 23. But he knows he can no longer rely on skill alone.
"I guess nowadays players are a little more into exercising and really taking care of what their physique should look like," he said. "You go in the gym, I was in there this morning at 5 — there were three pro guys in there with me."
