Singh's Victory Puts Him Back in Top 10

Despite missing three putts inside eight feet on the back nine at Firestone County Club in Akron, Ohio, Vijay Singh won the Bridgestone Invitational by swirling in a 3 1/2 -foot par putt on the final hole yesterday to close with a 2-under-par 68 for a one-shot victory over Lee Westwood and Stuart Appleby.

Singh's first World Golf Championship title ended his 0-for-34 drought on the PGA Tour.

"What a relief," Singh said. "I didn't think I could finish it there at the end."

Singh had not won on U.S. soil since the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March 2007, and this year he blew 54-hole leads at Pebble Beach and Bay Hill. But he finally got it done, winning for the 32nd time on the PGA Tour.

After falling out of the top 10, Singh is likely to move up to No. 4 in the world rankings. Singh finished at 10-under 270 and earned $1.35 million.

As shaky as Singh looked down the stretch, Phil Mickelson was even worse. He played bogey-free through the first 14 holes to build a one-shot lead, then threw it away by making three bogeys from the bunker on the final four holes to shoot 70, two shots behind.

Westwood, who could have moved up to No. 4 in the world with his first U.S. title in 10 years, rallied from a five-shot deficit with 11 holes to play to get within one of the lead. But he missed a seven-foot birdie attempt on the 17th, and his 15-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the 18th to tie for the lead was left all the way. He closed with a 69.

An equally impressive rally belonged to Appleby, the only player to compete in all 29 of the WGC events since they began in 1999. He was seemingly out of the picture until a 30-foot birdie on the 16th, a three-foot birdie on the 17th and an 18-foot birdie attempt on the final hole that just stayed right of the cup. He shot 68.

Mickelson and Retief Goosen (67) tied for fourth, while Darren Clarke made a strong showing in his first U.S. tournament since the PGA Championship last year. Clarke closed with a 67 to tie for sixth with Peter Lonard (66).

· U.S. SENIOR OPEN: Eduardo Romero became the second Argentine golfer to hoist the silver cup, 28 years after Roberto De Vicenzo won the trophy at Winged Foot. Romero is the first international winner at the U.S. Senior Open since Australia's Graham Marsh in 1997 and the first to hold both the 54-hole lead and the trophy since Bruce Lietzke in 2003.

Romero, 54, shot a final round 3-over 73 at The Broadmoor's East Course in Colorado Springs but was never seriously challenged by Fred Funk (75), who finished four strokes back.

Romero was 6-under 274 for the tournament.

Funk, who began the day two shots back, failed to cut into the deficit then watched his quest to become the fifth straight come-from-behind winner die with a triple-bogey on the par-4 13th.

Mark McNulty (68) finished in third, five shots back. Greg Norman shot a 70 and finished fourth, his third straight top-five finish.

· WOMEN: Shin Ji-yai won the Women's British Open by three strokes after a final round 6-under 66 in Sunningdale, England. It is the first major victory for the 20-year-old South Korean who won with an 18-under 270.

Yani Tseng of Taiwan was second with a 66 and a 15-under 273.

Shin's victory continued Asia's domination of women's majors this year. Tseng won the LPGA Championship and South Korea's Inbee Park took the U.S. Women's Open.

Annika Sorenstam finished her final major with a 10-foot birdie putt for a 68 and a 6-under 282, which left her 24th. Defending champion Lorena Ochoa tied for seventh after a 69 for an 11-under 277.

· PGA TOUR: Parker McLachlin shot a 2-over 74 and still hung on to claim his first tour victory by seven strokes at the Reno-Tahoe Open.

The 29-year-old UCLA product, who tied the course record with a 10-under 62 on Friday, was 18-under 270 for the tournament in Reno, Nev.