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Vijay Singh won nine tournaments in 2004. 2004 was know more for Tiger’s failings than Fijian’s 9 victories .

Vijay Singh won nine times on the PGA Tour in 2004, including a major championship. But nobody outside of Fiji seemed to care.

When Tiger Woods triumphed nine times in 2000 - yes, with three majors - he was anointed God-like status by media and fans alike.

When Singh managed a similar accomplishment, it was greeted with something approaching a collective yawn. Ask people who don’t follow golf what they know about Singh and you’ll be greeted by blank looks.

Ask the very same people about Woods, and they will no doubt want to know details of his recent wedding.

In a celebrity-obsessed culture, merely being the best in your craft is not enough. You need the sizzle to sell the steak, which is why the 2004 will be remembered as much for what Woods didn’t do as for what Singh did.

What Woods didn’t do was dominate golf. He won only once on the PGA Tour, at the World Golf Championships Match Play Championship in February, and finished fourth on the money list, his worst ranking since also finishing fourth in 1998.

And although he ended the year with back-to-back victories in Japan and at his own unofficial tournament in California, it remains to be seen whether he really is back to his formerly brilliant best.

On the course at least, his void in 2004 was filled by Singh, whose dominance over the second half the season - including one stretch where he won five times in six starts - was truly magnificent.

His playoff triumph at the PGA Championship was the pinnacle of his year, but he was far from content to rest on his laurels. Rarely, if ever, has a 41-year-old been so consistently brilliant.

Singh assumed the world No. 1 ranking in early September, ending Woods’ reign of more than five years, and capped off the year by not only finishing atop the money list for the second successive year, but also collecting the Vardon Trophy for the best stroke average, and the Player of the Year award as voted by his peers.

Singh’s awesome finish made it easy to forget that until July, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els were the best players in the world, certainly in the majors. They staged a magnificent duel at the Masters, where Els fired a final-round 67, only to watch as Mickelson birdied the last hole to finally - at the age of 33 -win a long overdue major championship.

Mickelson came agonizingly close in the other three majors, losing by a collective five shots. How close he was to the Grand Slam was obscured because he went largely missing after August, conspicuous only for his dreadful performance at the Ryder Cup, where he struggled with a poor pairing and new equipment.

But at least Mickelson won a major. Els came up empty, despite contending in all four. The native of Zimbabwe lost a playoff to Todd Hamilton at the British Open and finished one shot out of a three-way playoff at the PGA Championship. He also was in the hunt at the U.S. Open until he faded with a final-round 80.

With Singh and Els at the top of the sport, it may seem as if the balance of power has shifted away from the U.S. and Europe. However, the Ryder Cup remains the game’s most compelling attraction, and this year’s installment at Oakland Hills, Michigan was no exception.

The Europeans are always underdogs based on the world rankings, but they dominated from the first shot to the last, winning by nine points for captain Bernhard Langer and leaving hapless and helpless American captain Hal Sutton to try to explain the inexplicable.

In particular, Sutton’s decision to pair Woods and Mickelson for two matches on the first day backfired. A blind man could see their incompatibility as they lost both times before being belatedly split up.

In women’s golf, Annika Sorenstam continued to dominate the LPGA, winning the money title for the fourth straight year. But she began the year by declaring her goal to be the Grand Slam, so eight victories in 18 starts, including one major, didn’t seem particularly special.

In the larger LPGA picture, 2004 also saw the continuing trend of South Korean domination, with four of the top 11 players on the money list hailing from that relatively small golfing nation.

Thankfully, the trend of women playing in men’s events so evident in 2003 largely ended - with one notable exception. Michelle Wie contested her hometown Sony Open in Hawaii, and the 14-year-old came within a shot of making the cut, thanks largely to brilliant putting.

Wie is returning in January for another crack at the men. But it seems that with rare exceptions, the novelty of women competing against men has worn off.

It is amazing how some players, with their backs to the wall, tend to play better than usual. Chandigarh’s Irina Brar showed tremendous grit to overcome back problems and a nervous play-off to win the 55th Ladies Western India Golf Championship, sponsored by WIGA, at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club course on Friday.

‘‘My back has been aching for some time and my doctor had advised rest. But I had to play so I skipped practice sessions to get rest,’’ revealed the 21-year-old later. Brar also kept her nerves during the play-off over citymate Parneeta Grewal, prevailing with a birdie on the par-5 19th hole, to lift the title.

Grewal, trailing Brar by four strokes overnight, played brilliant golf on the last day, returning a par round of 70 to tie with Brar (74) on 293, which prompted the play-off. However, Brar, the country’s top-ranked player held her nerves and sunk a birdie to emerge champion.

Brar, who had lost to Grewal by six strokes last week at Kolkata, said after her victory that she was tense during the play-off. This was also because she had lost in a play-off to Grewal four years ago. However, she managed to reverse the tables on her close rival this time around.

Grewal reserved her best for the last, playing the first nine holes in two-under 33, with birdies on the 3rd and 5th holes. Her back nine was marred a bit by bogies on the 10th and 15th holes, but her performance was the best among all the golfers over four days.

Jasjeet Singh set himself up for a second title on the Royal Challenge Indian Golf Tour this year with a consistent performance of level-par 72 in the penultimate round of the Royal Challenge RCGC Cup at Kolkata today, according to information received here.

The 26-year old from Noida Golf Course finished atop the leaderboard with a three day tally of four-under 212. Placed second four strokes behind with a total of 216 was Chirag Kumar of Delhi Golf Course, who played an error-free round to record four-under 68 on day three. Close behind by a solitary stroke was the duo of A.S. Lehal who recorded two-under 70 for the day and Gagan Verma with a two-over 74 against his name.

Jasjeet began well with a birdie on the very first hole and finished the front nine with another birdie. He began his return journey with two-under on the scorecard but that was to last only for the next four holes as Jasjeet recorded his first bogey of the day.

‘‘Although I’m happy to be going into the final day at the top of the leader board, I definitely need to work on my putting, which let me down today,’’ said Jasjeet.

The performance of the day came from Chirag Kumar who played a blistering round of 68, which comprised four birdies, all coming on par-four holes. Chirag putted like a dream, sinking two difficult 15-feet putts on the 8th and 11th holes which handed him a birdie each. His other two birdies came on the 16th and 17th holes. Manav Das was placed fifth and Simarjeet Singh followed on the leaderboard with 219.

SCORES (after 54 holes)
212 Jasjeet Singh; 216 Chirag Kumar; 217 AS Lehal, Gagan Verma; 218 Manav Das; 219 Simarjeet Singh; 224 Keshav Misra, Balwinder Mattoo; 225 Joseph Chakola; 226 Moin Malaka, HS Kang.

Even as the country’s best lady golfers polished their irons for the Northern India Championship at the Delhi Golf Club, the irony was obvious – Indian eves have failed to make a mark on the global golf map.

A solitary golfer, Simi Mehra, is competing in the United States and most players don’t consider the sport as a serious career option.

In the tournament, Mayali Talwar, Vaishavi Sinha and Neha Majithia – the troika of young golfing champs, crosses clubs with golf prodigy Irena Brar and defending champ Parnita Grewal, besides seasoned campaigners Shruti Khanna and Shalini Malik. None of them has come close to turning pro. Khanna, who won the Pakistan National Amateur Golf title at Lahore earlier this year, spent four years perfecting her putt at Rollins College, Florida, but the thought of turning pro never crossed her mind. “I didn’t want the life of a pro golfer. I enjoy the game as a sport and the competitiveness that comes with it. But there isn’t a career in it.” Concurs Malik, a Modern School alumna: “Life on the tour is hard. Even after a golf scholarship to the University of Hartford, Connecticut, I wasn’t prepared to travel 30 weeks a year on my own.”

Vaishavi Sinha, 13, the Numero Uno junior in India, is a potential pro. “She is playing hot golf. Vaishavi has great focus,” remarks Khanna. The petite champ, herself, who idolizes Annika Sorenstam, dreams big. “I’ll turn pro one day,” declares the class IX student of DPS, Noida.

But she’ll have to contend with a Catch 22 situation first, says Neha Majitha, a second year student of English at Sri Venkateswara College and the winner of the Noida Open 2004. “India doesn’t have a pro circuit and one needs sponsors and spunk to make it big in the US.” That’s why a degree in fashion, like the one Talwar wants from New York University, is a good option to fall back upon. Obviously, a Superlative performance will spur sponsors. Till then our lady golfers will remain in the woods.