Singh stays in the hunt at Bay Hill

2008-03-15

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By Andrew BothPA SportsTicker Golf Writer

ORLANDO, Florida (Ticker) - Vijay Singh recovered from ahorrible early stretch to claw back into a tie for the leadafter the third round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational onSaturday.

Singh dropped five strokes in four holes starting at the par-5sixth, and his hopes of successfully defending his titleappeared to be in tatters as he began to negotiate the inwardhalf in difficult, blustery conditions at Bay Hill.

But he displayed the sort of grit and perseverance that hashelped him garner 31 PGA Tour victories, picking up two birdiesand seven hard-earned pars coming home to shoot a 3-over-par 73that could have been considerably worse.

His problems at No. 6 began when he smacked his drive into thelake guarding the left side of the hole, leading to a double-bogey.

"I may have been too aggressive on the line and I should havetaken it more right and played for a lay-up, but I was drivingthe ball really well," Singh said. "I just hung in there.There''s a lot of golf to be played and that''s what I kepttelling myself. It''s still Saturday and I''m playing good enough,otherwise I wouldn''t be in that situation.

"I just believed in my swing and kept going, tried to get itback slowly. Making the birdie on (No. 10) was big too. Itdefinitely got my rhythm going again."

Not that it was all smooth sailing on the back nine. Singh wasin danger of a big number at the treacherous par-4 16th afterdunking his second shot in the drink, but he chipped in from 30feet to salvage par.

If it wasn''t for the presence of Tiger Woods as one of the jointleaders, Singh would probably start the final round a slightfavorite despite his troubles on Saturday. But the 45-year-oldfrom Fiji was having none of it when asked about the "Tigerfactor", instead he focused on the weather and the bunchedfield.

"It''s so bunched up," he said. "Sean (O''Hair) went out and shot7-under today. Somebody out of the pack could do that tomorrow,so I''m just going to play my game and see if I can shoot low."