Vijay on the Range

It's Canadian Open week in Toronto. Which means another routine PGA Tour stop in the bigger scheme of golf things.

And that's unfortunate. The Canadian Open is the third oldest tournament in golf's history behind The Open and the US Open.

That's pretty significant and once upon a time, many of the tour players thought so, too. Past champions include Greg Norman, Arnold Palmer, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Walter Hagen and, more recently, Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk.

But, sadly, the Canadian Open has been bumped around the schedule over the past few years, a slap in the face to its historical significance and its worth as a national tournament.

The PGA finally settled on early July as the time slot for this year and the foreseeable future - immediately following The Open, something that almost guarantees a weak field.

In fact, Davis Love, who was at Angus Glen early last month to sing the praises of the course after his design team had made substantial alterations and who said he would probably be in attendance, given how he badly needed the FexEx Cup points, bowed out at the last minute.

However, this year's roster of talent is strong, no doubt about it. Defending champion Jim Furyk is present, 2003 Masters winner, Mike Weir, fellow Canadian Stephen Ames, Mark Calcavecchia, Alex Cejka from the European Tour, John Daly, Chris DiMarco, Brad Faxon and many more, 156 top golfers in all.

And Vijay Singh, 2004 champion.

But no Ernie Els, no Phil, no Adam Scott, no Harrington (that would have been wonderful), no Sergio, no Henrik Stenson, no Geoff Ogilvy, all of whom are world top ten players. And, of course, no Tiger - who hasn't been back since 2001, the year after he won the tournament.

After picking up my media accreditation from the fine guys in charge of media for the Royal Canadian Golf Association, I headed straight to the practice tee, alongside the Jim McLean Golf School.

And there, at the start of the line, was Vijay, world ranking, 7th.

Watching Vijay practice is like taking a lesson from him; he never hurries. Anything. He strolled into his allotted patch of green on the range, pulled out his golf umbrella, stuck it in the ground in front of his left foot and just behind his target line.

Then out came the headless shaft which went into the ground by his right (back) foot - his guide to ensure that he doesn't slide on the backswing.

Next, he took out his driver, teed it up and hit four balls with a nice easy swing. He wasn't trying to power the ball. It appeared he just wanted to make contact while loosening up.

Even with no uncoiling of his lower body, Singh still knocked his driver about 200 yards.

Then, and only then, did he start with the wedge and work his way up. Never rushing. Often stopping to chat after every second ball or so with the small knot of individuals around him.

Singh's tempo is much like Ernie Els. Slow and easy with backswing and downswing identical in speed and tempo.

And, no, he didn't pull out the Speed Stik to warm up...

When Vijay started to uncoil his hips while hitting driver, his ball sailed off the tee on a high trajectory and just kept going. The uphill practice range at Angus Glen was build for long hitters in mind - there's plenty of room about 300 yards out. And Vijay's ball was landing just about at the back of the range - all carry, given that the range slopes upwards from the tee area.

And what can you say about the man's shoulder turn. Complete 90 degree turns even with his wedge. And always that easy, relaxed tempo with a little pause at the top of the backswing before transitioning down to the ball.

A thing of beauty.

For me, watching the pros up close is what it's all about. I don't really care who wins - whoever does will be a deserving champion, given the field and the course.

The swing's the thing.