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Singh wins second Houston PGA title

Defending champion Vijay Singh of Fiji holds up the winner's trophy after beating John Daly in a one-hole playoff during the final round of the Houston Open on Sunday. PHOTO: AP

Vijay Singh, newly inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, defeated John Daly on the first playoff hole on Sunday to become the first player to win back-to-back Houston Open titles.

Both Singh and Daly finished 72 holes at 13-under-par 275.

Back at 18 for the playoff, Singh pushed his drive right into the rough. Daly, who had birdied 18 to tie Singh, hit a through the fairway and into the water, essentially handing Singh the title.

"In the playoff, I came over the three-wood. I put a good swing on it, just turned it over a little too much. I wish I would have done better in the playoff," Daly said.

Singh reached the green with his second shot, and two-putted from 45 feet to close out his second victory of the season.

He improved to 6-2 in playoffs, including a win at the PGA Championship last season, while Daly dropped to 2-1.

Singh, who has won three of the last four tournaments here, entered the final round tied with Australian Gavin Coles for the lead and carded a 70.

Daly finished about 30 minutes before Singh but watched the action from the press tent and the 18th green rather than heading to the practice range -- a decision that in hindsight looked questionable but one that Daly did not second-guess.

Daly started the day tied for sixth and made his move on the back nine. He birdied three of his final four holes, including 17 and 18, to finish with a five-under 67.

Two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain finished third on 277, while Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke and Englishman Greg Owen tied for fourth on 278.

Scott climbs in rankings

Australia's Adam Scott has climbed four spots to a career-high sixth in the world rankings following his wire-to-wire victory at the Johnnie Walker Classic in China on Sunday.

The 24-year-old, who won by three shots at Beijing's Pine Valley Golf Resort, leapfrogged Padraig Harrington, Chris DiMarco, Sergio Garcia and David Toms in the official rankings issued on Monday.

Irishman Harrington slipped to seven, American DiMarco to eight, Spaniard Garcia to nine and 2001 US PGA champion Toms to 10.

Although there were no other changes in the world's top 10, Vijay Singh closed the gap on top-ranked Tiger Woods to within a point.

Singh, who ended Woods's five-year reign as the game's leading player last September, has a points average of 12.51. US Masters champion Woods, in his ninth spell on top, has an average of 13.49.

Ernie Els, who tied for sixth in China at the weekend, remained as world No. 3, 2004 Masters winner Phil Mickelson at four and US Open champion Retief Goosen at five.

World-ranking points are accumulated over a two-year period, with points awarded in the most recent 13-week spell doubled.

Each player is ranked according to his average points per tournament, points being weighted according to the status of the event and strength of the field.
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