Vijay Singh was delighted as he started the new season with a two-stroke victory at the $5.5 million Mercedes-Benz Championship to become the most successful over-40 in PGA Tour history.
The 43-year-old led throughout the final round, carding a solid, bogey-free three-under-par 70 to edge out Adam Scott as he finished on a 14-under-par 278 on Maui's Kapalua Plantation course.
The Fijian's victory was his 30th on the tour, and the 18th since he turned 40, breaking the legendary Sam Snead's record for the most victories after reaching that age.
"To pass (Snead's) record after 40 really doesn't mean much," he said. "There's no trophies for doing it. It's not even a record, it's just numbers."
Singh never gave his rivals a chance during the final round, making birdies at the first two holes while Scott was unchallenged for second place.
The Australian was the only player to put any pressure on Singh, cutting the gap to two strokes with a birdie at par-four 16th.
However, Scott surrendered any chance of catching Singh when he made a three-putt bogey at the 17th, missing his second putt from inside four feet, and a birdie at the last was merely academic.
"I was totally in control of my game," said Singh. "I was just a little concern if (Scott) went birdie, birdie (at the last two holes), I'd have to birdie one, but I wasn't at any point worried about my position."
Singh collected $1.1 million to become just the second player after Tiger Woods to pass $50 million in career earnings, while he also earned 4500 points in the new FedEx Cup series.
