**********. I hope he loses. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/3150378 Singh, Coles go at it as mismatched equals Hall of Famer, 'Angry Ant' share lead and little else By STEVE CAMPBELL Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle They will go off together, last off the tee and first in the Shell Houston Open pecking order. Just don't expect them to see eye to eye. Vijay Singh is a strapping, 6-2 Fijian who is the newest member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Gavin Coles is a feisty 5-4 Australian known as the "Angry Ant." Singh is ranked second in the world, Coles 388th. Singh is a two-time SHO champion who has won the past two PGA Tour money titles. Coles has two children — one of whom he had to deliver in the kitchen of his home in Bathurst, Australia. In the cold, objective eye of the Redstone Golf Club leader board, Singh and Coles are golfing equals. Singh and Coles emerged from Saturday with matching 54-hole scores of 11-under-par 205. On a day when Redstone was drill-sergeant demanding, Coles played his way into the marquee group of the final round by parring his final nine holes to post a 1-under 71. Singh played his way into the last group by shooting 70 in swirling, 15-20 mph winds. Five strokes behind Coles at one point during the round, Singh righted himself with three birdies and six pars on the back nine of the 7,508-yard Redstone layout. "I think he'll be more concerned about me," Singh said, "than me with him." Singh is 42 and has 25 PGA Tour victories. Coles is 36 and has two Nationwide Tour victories. Singh has $39.6 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour compared to $151,529 for Coles. Singh has finished among the top 10 on the tour money list in eight different seasons. Coles has never finished higher than 17th in a tour event. "I've never played with Gavin Coles," Singh said. "I've seen him walk by me." Coles has a little more vivid memory of his most recent brush with greatness. "He said 'good playing' on Thursday when I went to the chipping green," Coles said. "So he knows who I am, and I definitely know who he is." Singh is the defending SHO champion and has won three major championships. Coles has never qualified to play in a major championship. Singh is coming off a nine-victory 2004 season that including the PGA Championship. Coles considers the 2004 New Zealand PGA Championship his biggest victory. Singh has closed the deal 15 of the 23 previous times he has led or shared the lead entering the final round. Coles is fresh off of making the 12th cut of his tour career. "To be honest, I'm not going to see much of Vijay," Coles said. "I'll see him on the tee and I'll see him on the green. Apart from that, we're probably not going to say much to each other. I suppose I'm going to take the mentality that it's me and my caddie out there, and that's it." Nor are Singh and Coles likely to spend much time in close proximity on the fairways. Singh is averaging 307.8 yards off the tee this week, Coles 275.8. On Saturday, Singh hit driver-driver just short of the green at the 574-yard, par-5 No. 15 to set up his final birdie. As for Coles, the 181st-longest hitter on tour ... . "I smoked my drive about 10 yards on to the fairway," Coles said. Then Coles hit his rescue club. Then he hit a wedge "as hard as I could." Shortcomings notwithstanding, Coles has given himself a chance to live large like never before. "It's awesome, mate," Coles said. "I can't imagine too many guys that wouldn't want to be in my shoes. What better could it be, playing with the No. 2 player in the world? "I've just got to be patient. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen." A bogey-bogey finish happened to Englishman Greg Owen (70), costing him the 54-hole lead. Owen was two holes away from a posting the only bogey-free round of the day, only to miss a four-foot putt for par at No. 17 and hit his approach into a greenside bunker at No. 18. Just like that, Owen had fallen from first to third at 10 under — one stroke ahead of Brett Quigley (73) and two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal (70), two ahead of John Daly (73), Joe Ogilvie (73) and Sugar Land's Tom Byrum (70). "I've got nothing to lose," said Owen, a 33-year-old rookie whose best finish was third at Pebble Beach in February. "Nobody is expecting me to do anything. I'll just have great fun, smile and laugh with the guy I'm playing with." Players spent considerably more time gritting their teeth than smiling on day when Redstone was, in Singh's estimation, "a beast." The average score was 73.308, meaning Kent Jones and Brian Bateman skyrocketed from tied for 36th to tied for ninth by shooting 68s. Singh opened the tournament by matching the course record of 64, and he stands head and shoulders above Coles in stature and career accomplishments. Still, the leader board doesn't know the difference between an Angry Ant and the Hall of Famer. Coles wondered aloud what it will be like trying to sleep on his first 54-hole lead. "I've got a couple of kids that will keep me occupied for a while, I'm sure," Coles said. "I'm pretty tired right now, so hopefully they won't make me too angry by not going to bed on time."
I think those are perfectly acceptable quotes by VJ. The guy is an unknown, why should he be afraid. Besides if the best players can't psyche out their lesser opponents then no one can.
OMG THOSE COMMENTS BY VIJAY WERE DOWNRIGHT VICIOUS - HE MUST DIE. PURE EVIL IS HE!! AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT BECAUSE HIS EVIL WORDS WERE BOLDED EITHER!!!!
Definitely. In case you didn't know, Singh threatened to withdraw from the Colonial - the event Annika Sorrenstam played in on the men's PGA tour - if he was paired with her at any point during the tournament because women don't belong on the PGA tour (according to him). Vijay is disliked by the media because he has skipped out on numerous interviews and cut others short when he didn't like the questions. A lot of other golfers don't like him because he is really stand-offish with guys in the clubhouse and has taken shots at other players with little provocation. Basically, the guy's just a jerk.
And if I'm not mistaken, he's a cheater. I remember hearing that early in his career he was caught cheating during a round, and many of the other golfers have never forgiven him.
nor have they forgiven him for being extremly good... Most golfers seem to have charisma bypasses. Singh is just in the HOF in this regard.
well actually many players (recently goosen) have now admitted they don't like women playing on sponsor's exemptions. i don't think it's the playing together as much as the fact that men aren't eligible for sponsor's exemptions on the women's tour so why should women be allowed to play on the mens... as far as not being liked by many other players - i doubt it's as bad as the media makes it out. in fact today on the golf commentators mentioned that vijay would likely seek out Coles in the next few weeks to give him some advice because "he's very generous with his time"... who knows what the question to vijay was before his reply... i mean some reporter could've asked him jokingly "so who should be more concerned?"
Yeah I think it pretty much is. My memory is kind of fuzzy about what exacly he said but I think it was basically how you stated. Though I dont recall it being quite that sexist. From what i remember he said mostly what everyone what thinking. Which was critical about her sponsors exemption and that she couldnt come close to qualifying if she had to play her way into the tourney. I dont really think he should be permanently labled as a dick just from that week but he sure was one then. Though her pretty decent play made him seem like even more of an ass. Also I remember that he ended up droppng out of that tournament because of the media pressure on him.
Vijay is the number 2 ranked player in the world according to the official World Golf Ranking, and he won 9 times last year.
Yeah, he might be top2 now. You could say he is currently the best if you count only last year and this year. His last year was one of the best in golf history. I'll give you that. BUT, "Best Golfer Ever"? No Way.
