The heat is on for Vijay

SECOND favourite Vijay Singh issued a clear warning to the USGA last night on the state of the Pinehurst course going into today’s first round of the 105th US Open.

The Fijian has been exchanging top spot in the world rankings with Tiger Woods for the first part of the season and sees victory in the US Open as essential if he is to be installed in the pantheon of the game’s greatest players. At 42, Singh fears time may be running out for him to add to his previous major wins in the US PGA Championship in 1998 and 2004 and the 2000 Masters. What he doesn’t need is a course where ball control becomes virtually impossible, as happened on several holes during last year’s final round at Shinnecock Hills.

Singh yesterday conveyed his concerns to championship director Tom Meeks of the USGA. He subsequently suggested that he didn’t believe the essence of Meeks’s response.