Vintage Vijay Singh eyes PGA Tour record at Honda Classic

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Veteran Fijian golfer Vijay Singh has inched closer to become the oldest champion in U.S. PGA Tour history by carding a five-under 65 in Saturday's third round at the Honda Classic at PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

The 56-year-old former world number one grabbed six birdies against a lone bogey to stand on six-under 204 overall at PGA National to move up to the second place. He is now just one stroke behind US leader Wyndham Clark.

After an emphatic third round, a visibly satisfied Singh said, "I played really well. I played like I know how. I just let it go and the swing was a lot more freer. If I did what I did today, this is how I used to play. I don't know what I found, but I'm going to see if it's still there tomorrow."

Vijay Singh of Fiji plays his third shot on the third hole during the first round of the Honda Classic at PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, February 28, 2019. /VCG Photo

The three-time major champion, who turned 56 on February 22, would break the the U.S. PGA oldest winner milestone set by Sam Snead when he clinched the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open at the age of 52 years, 10 months and eight days.

"I'm physically quite capable of doing it. Mentally, I'm going to go out there and see how my mind works. If I just don't let anything interfere, I think I can do it," Singh confidently remarked.

Only six other players have won PGA events in their 50s till date and Davis Love is the most recent one with his triumph at Greensboro in 2015.

Singh has got 34 U.S. PGA titles under his belt but has failed to win a single title since September 2008 when he won the Deutsche Bank Championship in order to capture the U.S. playoff crown.

Singh is now ranked 938th in the world and has enjoyed a decent amount of success on the 50-and-over PGA Champions circuit, bagging three titles last year.

Quite interestingly, Singh had won his first PGA title at the Buick Classic in June 1993 – six months before the current tournament leader Clark was born.