With a T40 finish in the 2026 Sony Open in Hawaii, Vijay Singh made his successful return to the PGA Tour. However, his stay didn’t last that long as he switched back to the Seniors Tour just a week later. After competing with an average field half his age, Tiger Woods‘ rival is playing in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship. And he shared why he’s not at the Pete Dye Stadium Course instead.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Singh said, “If I wanted to, I can play one or two other [PGA Tour] events if possible. Maybe if I’m fit enough to walk the Masters because that’s a hilly golf course, I may play San Antonio [the Valero Texas Open] a week before that, and Phoenix is a pretty flat golf course, so I could play that. Besides that, I’m happy to be on the Champions tour.”
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The 62-year-old was fit enough to compete at the Waiʻalae Country Club in Hawaii last week. However, the venues for the coming weeks might be a bit too tedious for him. As he expressed, he still wishes to play at TPC San Antonio and probably also at Augusta National. However, he will limit his appearances for 2026.
Explaining his side of the story in retaining his PGA Tour membership, Singh added, “I wanted to play Sony. So instead of asking for a sponsor’s invite, I just said s***, I’m 62, I don’t know how many more years I’m gonna get a chance, it’s the last time to play Sony because it seems like they’re not going back there, so I said, ‘I love the golf course, I love Hawaii, so I might as well just do that’.”
Considering his age, Singh wouldn’t have received many opportunities to retain his PGA Tour membership again. Even in the Champions Tour, the likes of Miguel Angel Jiménez and Steven Alker are dominating the field. But the Fijian legend has struggled to find consistent form. Despite that, he didn’t let the opportunity he took go to waste.
“I always enter a tournament, not just to make up the numbers, I want to compete. Same thing with the Masters, if I go there, I don’t want to go there and just play two days and leave. If my body’s good enough and if I feel my game is good enough, I’m going to go play and play to compete.”
Singh has a lifetime exemption from playing in the Masters Tournament due to his win in 2000. He didn’t make an appearance in it in 2025 due to an injury. However, the 62-year-old did get a T58 finish in the Green Jacket event back in 2024.
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