Vijay Singh‘s work ethic screams that’s what a professional golfer’s routine looks like. Gym at 6:30 AM, range by 7:30, already drenched in sweat before most caddies finished their coffee. His former caddie, Kip Henley, recalls the intensity: infinite hours compared to other players, brutal perfectionism that cut thin-skinned caddies to the bone. Yet despite 34 PGA Tour wins and three majors, one persistent weakness held him back.

“If he was an okay putter, he would’ve won them all,” Henley revealed on the Subpar podcast. That single line captures the weakness of Singh’s career. The Fijian has flawless ball-striking, a relentless drive to improve, and an iron will that propelled him to world number one. Yet on the greens, where tournaments are won and lost, Singh had a putting problem.

Henley has seen Vijay Singh’s perfection firsthand. The veteran would put himself in a fairway bunker with a five-foot lip and ten yards back, holding only a four-iron. He would rake shot after shot onto the green with mechanical precision, never looking to see where they landed. Thirty straight balls without a thin or fat hit. Henley said, “He’s an amazing guy; guys underestimate how good that cat was.”

The numbers back up the ball-striking brilliance. In 2004, Singh led the PGA Tour in scoring average, total birdies (484), par-4 scoring, par-5 scoring, and strokes gained off the tee, according to Golf Digest. He finished second in greens in regulation at 73.03%. But putting told a different story.

Sports Illustrated noted in 2003 that Singh “has been among the best—if not the best—ball strikers in the world for a long time. Erratic putting, made worse by his habit of frequently changing putters and techniques, has been the only thing holding him back.” That year, he ranked 106th in putts per round at 29.04 before improving to 40th the following season.

Even with putting troubles, Singh’s accomplishments stand tall. He owns 34 PGA Tour wins (14th all-time and most by a non-American), three majors, over $71 million in career earnings (sixth all-time), and 32 weeks as the world’s best player. After turning 40, he won 22 times, breaking Sam Snead’s record. He won 18 PGA Tour titles in just three years, from March 2002 to July 2005.

He himself was aware of the issue with putting. Back in 2015, after a playoff victory against Sergio Garcia, where he needed to drain a bomb on 18 just to stay alive, Singh reflected candidly: “I absolutely put all my energy into making that putt, and that’s not the way to putt. It was one of the worst feelings over a putt. If I didn’t have the will inside of me to make that putt, the heart to make it, I don’t think I would have made it. That’s when I decided you’ve got to have an attitude change.”

The 62-year-old recognized he couldn’t sustain that emotional approach. His sporadic play pattern of missed cuts followed by wins hinted at deeper issues. “I convinced myself I’m the best putter in the world. I came out here with a different attitude, and I putted great this week,” Singh said later that year after winning The Barclays.

That mindset shift sustained Singh’s longevity. Moving from forcing putts through willpower to trusting a natural process allowed him to compete into his sixties.

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Vijay Singh returns at the Sony Open 2026

Vijay Singh made the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii at the age of 62. This was his second cut since 2021. Singh returned to full-field PGA Tour events after playing mostly on PGA Tour Champions since 2017. He used a one-time career money exemption for top-25 earners. His move to play in Hawaii was appreciated by Brendan Porath, who called it “awesome.”

On the match day, Singh started with a two-under 68, even though he had two double bogeys. He then shot an even-par 70 on Friday to make the cut at one under. He made a 31-foot birdie on the fourth hole, showing that his touch was still sharp when his mind was in the right place.

Singh won the Sony Open in 2005, which was one of four wins that year. Going back to Waialae Country Club twenty years later was more than just a trip down memory lane. He had already made $75 million in his career, so this wasn’t about the money; it was about proving he could still compete.

The performance proved Singh’s choice was right. Keegan Bradley and Tony Finau both missed the cut, but the 62-year-old played steady golf for 36 holes. He was able to keep going into his 70s, when most of his peers retired, because he faced his putting demons and changed his mind. The workhorse keeps going.