Vijay Singh shot a final-round 67 and then edged Jeff Maggert in a playoff to capture his first Champions Tour major at the Constellation Senior Players Championship.
Playing in the penultimate group, Singh and Maggert entered the day separated by one shot, but after carding 67 and 68, respectively, the two were deadlocked at 20-under par.
Following opening-hole pars, Singh knocked his approach on the second extra hole to within two feet for a tap-in birdie to claim his second Champions Tour of the season (Toshiba Classic), and third of his career. Singh earned $420,000 for the win, and an exemption into THE PLAYERS Championship in 2019.
“I’m really happy because I’m into the real PLAYERS next year, and it’s in March and it’s my home. That’s really exciting,” said Singh, who moved to No. 7 on the Charles Schwab race.
“To win the first major on this Tour, I’m really excited about that. Winning my first tournament at the beginning of the year was big, and now I’ve won this one, so I look forward to winning a lot more now.
“I always say, the first one, you get the first one out of the way, you can win a lot more after that.”
Brandt Jobe finished with a Sunday 66 to claim solo-third at 18-under par, one clear of Jerry Kelly who posted a low-round 64 to move to T4 alongside overnight co-leader Scott McCarron (71).
2018 CONSTELLATION SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
FINAL TOP 10
1. Vijay Singh -20 (-5)
2. Jeff Maggert -20 (-4)
3. Brandt Jobe -18 (-6)
4. Jerry Kelly -17 (-8)
4. Scott McCarron -17 (-1)
6. Bart Bryant -16 (E)
6. Scott Parel -16 (-3)
6. Duffy Waldorf -16 (-8)
6. Kenny Perry -16 (-4)
10. Glen Day -15 (-3)
6. Miguel Angel Jimenez -15 (-6)
6. Mike Small -15 (-1)
TOP CASHERS
1. $420,000 (Singh)
2. $246,400 (Maggert)
3. $201,600 (Jobe)
4. $151,200 (Kelly)
4. $151,200 (McCarron)
SENIOR PLAYERS: FINAL-ROUND HIGHLIGHTS
STATS: HOW VIJAY SINGH SCORED VICTORY
Driving: 289.1 yards (3rd)
Fairways: 37/56, 66.1% (64th)
Greens: 60/72, 83.3% (9th)
Par-3 Scoring: +1 (15 Pars, 1 Bogey)
Par-4 Scoring: -6 (6 Birdies, 34 Pars)
Par-5 Scoring: -14 (1 Eagle, 12 Birdies, 3 Pars)
EXIT QUESTION FOR VIJAY SINGH
Are you aware of having played on the TOUR, like the Masters with the huge crowd, it’s not so much of a crowd? Is that a little bit of an adjustment?
VIJAY SINGH: A little bit. I think the Champions is a little bit more relaxed. Most times we play three rounds, and there’s not that many crowd out here. Some weeks you’ve got a huge amount of crowds, like the U.S. Open had a lot of crowds.
I mean, it wasn’t that bad of a crowd. It was still exciting out there, you know. Any time you’re in the lead or you’re close to the lead, you get your blood flowing a little bit.