Happy Monday again for victorious Vijay

VIJAY SINGH zoomed past Joe Ogilvie for his second straight Monday victory, sinking a 25-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole to close a spectacular back nine and win a three-way shoot-out at the HP Classic as Justin Rose finished joint fifth.

Singh played the final eight holes in seven under par to erase a six-stroke deficit.

He came home in 29 to cap a nine under 63 and edge the unheralded Ogilvie by a shot at 22 under for a 266 total.

The second ranked player in the world was nearly forced to a play-off when Ogilvie left his bunker blast on the left edge of the closing hole at the English Turn Golf & Country Club.

Singh has made a habit of winning on Mondays, having claimed last week's rain-plagued Houston Open on the extra day.

He has won the last three Monday finishes on the PGA Tour and four for his career.

With the £518,000 top prize, Singh jumped past Phil Mickelson on the money list, taking the lead with more than £2.4million.

Ogilvie was the hard-luck loser, going the final 46 holes without a bogey and still settling for a share of second place with Mickelson.

Meanwhile, a record 8,726 golfers have entered next month's US Open, ranging from a 13-year-old Taiwanese amateur to an 81-year-old professional in Milwaukee to former British Open champion David Duval, who has not competed in nearly six months.

The event will be held on June 17-20 at Shinnecock Hills.

The previous record for entries was 8,468, set in 2002 when the US Open was played at Bethpage Black, also on New York's Long Island.

Two exempt players did not enter 1996 champion Steve Jones because of an injury and US Senior Open champion Bruce Lietzke, while defending champion Jim Furyk is not certain to play following wrist surgery in March.

A total of 64 players are exempt from qualifying, meaning 8,662 players will be competing for 92 spots. Local qualifying at more than 100 sites begins May 12, while sectional qualifying at 13 sites is from June 7-8.

Players must either be a professional or carry a 1.4 handicap to enter. The youngest entry is Tommy Mou, who now lives in Bradenton, and the oldest is Dick Lynch.

Duval has not played since he withdrew from the Dunlop Phoenix in November. He has not said when he will return, but he had to officially enter the US Open to be able to play. He received a five-year exemption by winning the British Open in 2001.

Eleven Europeans are on the exempt list Thomas Bjorn, Paul Casey, Darren Clarke, Brian Davis, Padraig Harrington, Fredrik Jacobson, Paul Lawrie, Ian Poulter, Phillip Price, Justin Rose and Lee Westwood.