Singh Is Humming With 18 Holes to Go

Vijay Singh made it clear that the Shell Houston Open is his to win or lose.

“They have to catch me. I’m not going to back off,” Singh said.

He has put together the best opening three rounds ever at the TPC at The Woodlands, shooting a six-under-par 66 Saturday for a three-stroke lead over Darren Clarke.

At 18-under 198, Singh matched the tournament record for relation to par set by Curtis Strange in his 1980 victory at the par-71 Woodlands Country Club.

“It’s Vijay’s tournament to lose,” Jose Maria Olazabal said after a 64 left him in third place, five shots back. “If he keeps on playing the way he’s doing at the moment, I don’t think we have much of a chance to beat him.”

Singh, looking for his first PGA Tour victory since the 2000 Masters, was nearly flawless for a third consecutive day.

Northern Ireland’s Clarke, who trailed Singh by two shots going into Saturday’s play, had a 67, but lost ground to the leader.

“Vijay kept flagging it,” he said. “I’m quite pleased to have a chance. I think with the way Vijay’s playing, if he keeps playing like that, he’s going to be very, very difficult to catch.”

Olazabal was next at 203. He had nine birdies in his 64, his best round of the year and the lowest round of the tournament.

Other international players in contention included Japan’s Shigeki Maruyama at 11 under after a 66. That was one shot better than South Africa’s Rory Sabbatini, who also had a 66, and Australia’s Greg Norman, whose second consecutive 68 left him eight shots off the lead.

Brandt Jobe, who lives near Dallas, had a 69 and was tied with Maruyama. His 205 made him the lowest-scoring American-born player.

Dave Eichelberger shot his second consecutive five-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead over Doug Tewell in the Senior Tour’s Emerald Coast Classic at Milton, Fla.

“I wish we could start right now,” said Eichelberger, winless since the 1999 U.S. Senior Open. “I would feel quite comfortable with another 65.”

Tewell shot a 63, attacking the course early and keeping the ball down when the wind doubled to 20 mph.

Lanny Wadkins (63) was third, four strokes back at 134. Hubert Green (66) was at 135, and Dale Douglass (63), Tom Jenkins (68) and first-round leader Dana Quigley (73) followed at 136.

Douglass, 66, became the second-youngest pro to better his age with his 63. Joe Jimenez was 65 when he shot a 63 in the 1991 GTE Northwest Classic.