The Board of Directors of The European Tour are pleased to announce that Vijay Singh has been accorded Honorary Life Membership of The European Tour in recognition of his outstanding achievements notably his successes in the 1998 US PGA Championship at Sahalee and the 2000 Masters Tournament at Augusta National.
Singh, aged 38, first played on The European Tour in 1988. Since then he has competed in 188 events on The European Tour International Schedule with ten victories in addition to his success in the World Match Play Championship at Wentworth Club in 1997. The Fijian has also recorded 45 top ten finishes which has helped him amass winnings of 5,867,021 euro (£3,951,020).
Neil Coles, Chairman of The European Tour Board of Directors, said: “The Board offers their congratulations to Vijay. His victories in the US PGA Championship and the Masters Tournament provided superb evidence of his ability to play golf at the highest level, and he thoroughly deserves the praise afforded to him by his peers. We are delighted to award Vijay Honorary Life Membership, and wish him continued success in the future.”
Singh, who was born in Fiji and turned professional in 1982, gained his first success as a professional in the 1984 Malaysian PGA Championship and he moved on to win the Nigeria Open and the Open Lansforsakringar in Sweden in 1988.
Singh’’s first victory on The European Tour came in the Volvo Open at Is Molas in 1989 in which year he also won the Zimbabwe Open, the Nigerian Open and the Ivory Coast Open.
With back to back wins on The European Tour in the Carlsberg Malaysian Open and the Caltex Singapore Masters in February of this year, Singh took his number of European Tour wins to ten and his total worldwide to 30 including the 1997 World Match Play Championship.
Singh said: “I am delighted to receive Honorary Life Membership of The European Tour. I have always enjoyed playing on The European Tour and I am delighted to be back this week for the Volvo PGA Championship here at Wentworth Club.
“I have always felt very much at home in Europe and I will be back to play here a lot more. My son was born in Europe and I hope that one day he can be part of The European Tour. I will always cherish this great honour.”
Ken Schofield, Executive Director of The European Tour, said: “Vijay’’s winning record speaks volumes for his ability to play world class golf on the international stage. Moreover his two Major Championship wins underline that he is a true champion, and we are delighted that he has accepted this Honorary Life Membership.”
Singh scored rounds of 70, 66, 67 and 68 to win the 1998 US PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club, Redmond, Washington, with a nine under par total of 271, and he shot 72-67-70-69 in winning the 2000 Masters Tournament with a ten under par 278 – three ahead of Ernie Els – at Augusta National. He is currently sixth in the Official World Golf Ranking.
