Singh set for Riviera after ruing Pebble return

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

PACIFIC PALISADES, California (Reuters) - Although Vijay Singh felt he came back too soon from knee surgery to play in last week''s Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, he has high hopes for this week''s Northern Trust Open.

"Last week was pretty much a trial-and-error thing to see how I was going to do but this week I am ready to play," the Fijian world number four told Reuters at Riviera Country Club Wednesday.

"I am pretty focused on what I am doing. I have my goals set this year to go out there and play really hard and really strong and try to compete every time I tee it up."

Three-times major winner Singh, who has piled up 34 titles on the PGA Tour, missed the cut at a damp Pebble Beach last week after making his Tour comeback from a month-long break.

The workaholic former world number one had not competed since the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii, having had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

"I really shouldn''t have played at Pebble," said Singh, who carded rounds of 72, 75 and 75 at the pro-am tournament. "That was a week I probably should have taken off.

"Plus Pebble was so wet and I played six straight days in that wet condition walking and the temperature wasn''t really warm.

"But I walked my legs out pretty good so hopefully this week will be much easier to walk," added the 45-year-old Fijian. "The knee''s getting better. It doesn''t hurt at all but it gets really fatigued.

"Each week I feel a lot more momentum coming back in my golf swing so I think there is no excuse. The doctor says it''s a little too early but I think it feels okay right now."

GREAT PLEASURE

Singh, who has piled up a record 22 PGA Tour titles since turning 40, took great pleasure from 48-year-old Kenny Perry''s victory at this month''s Phoenix Open.

Perry clinched his 13th tournament win on the U.S. circuit by beating fellow American Charley Hoffman in a playoff.

"It''s incredible and I think he has done unbelievably well," the smooth-swinging Fijian said.

"Kenny hits the ball a long, long ways and that makes a lot of difference. As you get older, people kind of get shorter but Kenny, for some reason, has kept his distance.

"If you hit the ball out there at 300 yards, you can play against anybody and that''s a big advantage when you get older. He played great and my hat''s off to Kenny. He''s a trooper."  Continued...