Singh Has a Score to Settle on Tour

ATLANTA (AP) _ Vijay Singh has a score to settle with East Lake. <br><br>The Tour Championship was his to win four years ago when the season-ending event was first played at East Lake. He had a one-stroke

Friday, November 1st 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ATLANTA (AP) _ Vijay Singh has a score to settle with East Lake.

The Tour Championship was his to win four years ago when the season-ending event was first played at East Lake. He had a one-stroke lead. Hal Sutton already was in the bunker. Singh's 3-iron was going right at the flag on the 232-yard closing hole.

How could he lose?

Easy.

The ball bounced over the green and into the rough, leading to a bogey. Sutton saved par from the bunker, then won on the first playoff hole.

``It took me a while to get over that one,'' Singh said.

He could have used a shot into the 18th like he had Thursday in the opening round of the Tour Championship _ a 5-wood that hopped and stopped 8 inches from the cup for a tap-in birdie, a 5-under 65 and a share of the lead with Steve Lowery.

It was one of only two birdies on the par-3 18th in the first round Thursday, and Singh knew even before he hit his 5-wood how valuable a birdie was. He looked over at the leaderboard and saw a list of players who walked off with a bogey.

``I was just observing,'' he said with a sly grin.

Some other observations from the first round of a cold, blustery day at East Lake:

_ Tiger Woods ended a couple of streaks.

The shifting wind nailed him on the par-3 sixth, and his 7-iron sailed over the green and into the water, leading to his first double bogey since the first hole of the third round in the Buick Open, a streak of 338 holes.

He also missed a 6-foot par putt on the 18th for a 71, ending a streak of 21 consecutive rounds at par or better that dates to his 81 in the third round of the British Open.

``The wind was kind of baffling to all of us,'' he said.

_ Phil Mickelson shot a 70, but won the ``Comedian of the Day'' award.

It was the first time all year that Woods and Mickelson _ Nos. 1 and 2 in the world ranking and on the money list _ were paired together, and it was believed to be the first time they played in the same group since the last day at the 2001 Masters.

As Woods stood on the first tee, the starter began reading his long list of victories this year: Bay Hill, Masters, U.S. Open, Buick Open, American Express Championship.

Mickelson playfully interrupted her.

``All right, all right,'' Left said, acting as though he had heard enough.

Mickelson bogeyed two of his final three holes for a 70, but was still smiling about his opening statement.

``Just a little levity,'' he said. ``I didn't realize he had won that much. That's awesome.''

_ Steve Lowery knows how to make the most of his opportunities.

He was 28th on the money list when he missed the cut last week at the Buick Challenge and was in danger of falling out of the top 30 on the money list. He dropped only one spot and went to East Lake, not Mississippi for an opposite-field event.

Lowery shot a 60 in the pro-am Tuesday, then shot a 65 when it counted.

``I've been playing good this year,'' said Lowery, who has finished second in three events and is one of six players at the Tour Championship who haven't won this year. ``I felt like on this golf course, you could shoot a low score. I was playing well enough to do it.''

_ Charles Howell III shared a lot in common with Singh, although certainly not the wardrobe.

Howell, with the retro look from Swedish designer Johan Lindeberg, joined Singh as the only players to birdie the 18th, and the only players to avoid a bogey.

He shot a 66 and was one stroke behind going into the second round.

``The wind blew, and the colder temperatures are things we have not seen lately on the PGA Tour,'' Howell said. ``It might take players a little bit to get on a roll.''

Still, Singh grabbed the spotlight with one shot he could have used four years ago.

With a 5-wood in his hand to the uphill par 3 that played into a cold, stiff breeze, Singh wasn't even sure he could reach the green.

His goal was to hit it straight, hit it hard and hope.

``It went dead straight, hard and stuck,'' Singh said.

Singh has been around long enough to know one round doesn't make a winner. Considering what happened four years ago, he couldn't help but look ahead.

``It owed me one in 1998,'' he said. ``It took me a while to get over that one, especially the shot I hit on 18. I would like to win this event, and on this golf course, because I've had two good finishes. We'll see on Sunday what happens.''