Norton

Tiger Woods surged past Vijay Singh to seize his fifth straight PGA title in superb style on Monday at the Deutsche Bank Championship. World number one Woods erased a three-shot deficit in three holes, took sole possession of the lead after five and rolled to his fifth win in as many starts with an eight-under-par 63 for 16-under 268.

Tiger Woods, bidding for his fifth win in as many starts, fired a five-under 66 in Massachusetts on Friday to seize the first-round lead in the Deutsche Bank Championship. Woods posted six birdies, including one on the 18th hole, to move take a one-shot lead over five players tied on 67 in the ,5-million tournament.

American John Rollins carded an eight-under-par 63 and is among five players tied for the lead after Sunday’s third round of the ,5-million PGA Deutsche Bank Championship. Sweden’s Carl Pettersson, Jason Bohn, Billy Andrade and Olin Browne are tied with Rollins at 10-under 203.

Tiger Woods carded a two-over par 73 to fall five shots off the pace after Saturday’s second round of the ,5-million PGA Deutsche Bank Championship. ”I didn’t hit it well, I didn’t putt well and I didn’t chip well,” Woods said. ”You could shoot a good number if you hit the ball well.”

Tiger Woods returns to the event where he was toppled from the world number-one ranking in 2004 as a clear favourite when the ,5-million United States PGA Championship opens on Friday. The reigning Masters and British Open champion seeks his sixth victory of the season.

Vijay Singh, the defending champion at the Deutsche Bank Championship, pulled out of the ,5-million PGA event on Tuesday. ”I have always defended a title on the PGA Tour and I am greatly disappointed I won’t be able to do so in Boston,” Singh said. ”I hope to return to Boston in 2006.”

A Zimbabwean court trying two British journalists accused of illegally covering last week’s parliamentary polls heard on Monday that a camera they apparently used to photograph the vote did not contain any images. A police officer testifying last week said he seized the camera from the journalists and took it for safekeeping at a local police station.

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe on Friday urged his supporters to vote for his party’s candidates in crunch upcoming parliamentary elections regardless of any of its shortcomings. ”It doesn’t matter that the party may have failed to fulfil certain promises, such as employment,” Mugabe said.