Singh's pass into U.S. Open is exactly as it should be

DUBLIN, Ohio -- It's been a long time since a smile this broad creased the face of the brooding, frowning Fijian, who hasn't had many reasons to flash his ivories lately.

By playing through injury, Vijay Singh cost himself places in the world rankings and an automatic spot in the U.S. Open. (AP)

But when Vijay Singh was escorted Thursday to a microphone situated before the assembled media at the Memorial Tournament -- a group he would usually treat like denizens of a leper colony -- he was beaming like a halogen headlight.

"Man, one exemption and everybody wants to talk about it," the 47-year-old said with a laugh.

In lingo Singh would use, it's for good reason, too, bro.

Breaking tradition, officials at the USGA a day earlier had reconsidered Singh's request for a backdoor pass into the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach later this month, thus extending one of the most remarkable runs in the game.

Singh, who had barely toppled out of the world top 50 at the Open qualifying deadline two weeks ago and thus missed an automatic berth when the Open begins June 17, will continue his 16-year string of playing in every Grand Slam event, the longest active streak in golf.

"It's a relief," Singh said.

It's poetic justice, too.

No veteran has been a more meritorious warrior than Singh, who forever has played more often than any other top-echelon player. Up until last year, when injuries began to wear him down, the stubborn streak of appearances at majors represented his hard-driving career in microcosm. Paradoxically, the same work ethic hurt him as he continued to pile up poor results this spring that dragged down his world ranking. When he toppled out of the top 50 and was facing a 36-hole qualifier Monday in Columbus, Ohio, Singh reached out to the USGA and asked to be considered for an exemption and was summarily shot down. Special exemptions into the U.S. Open are rare and preferably extended to elder statesmen.

"Then they thought about it, and they said yes," Singh said.

Unlike certain MLB umpires, the USGA had the advantage of taking a second chance, and this time around, they got it right.

USGA rules and competition chief Mike Davis said Thursday that the organization, which runs the U.S. Open, usually gravitates toward giving special exemptions as a form of honorarium. Tom Watson, who nearly won the British Open last summer at age 59 and won a U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in 1982, also received an exemption for this year. Deservedly, too.

Previously, the last special exemption into the Open was issued five years ago to three-time major winner Nick Price, who was winding down his years on the regular tour. So the Singh situation was hardly unprecedented.

Still, Davis said the organization "didn't want to open Pandora's Box" by green-lighting a player who had numerous competitive avenues in which to qualify.

"Our process has been fairly democratic," Davis said. "We try to keep subjectiveness out of it."

We will let you do the comparative math: Price was 48 when extended the invitation in 2005 and Singh is 47. Price had 18 PGA Tour victories, while Singh has 34, the third-most among active players. Both have won three Grand Slam titles.

So, heck yeah, the Fijian deserved the love.

Until his recent slump, Singh was the second-best player of the past decade, topping the PGA Tour money list in 2003, 2004 and 2008 -- the only player in the past 11 years not named Tiger Woods to lead the league in greenbacks.

Then there's the matter of his personal record at the National Open. Singh has never won the event, but has finished in the top 10 seven times. He shot a 7-under 63 at the U.S. Open outside Chicago in 2003 to match the record-low score at any major championship. Over the longer haul, Singh has missed one cut at a U.S. Open in 16 tries, and it came at his first appearance in 1993.

Still, that double-barreled blast of impressive facts is far less notable than his streak of participation at the major championships. The last time Singh missed a major was at the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont, so the Pebble Beach appearance will mark his 64th consecutive major.

That's roughly three full seasons of play for a top-tier player, or an entire career's worth of appearances for some less-heralded, short-lived tour guys.

Singh laughed when reminded of that fact.

"I am so happy that they gave it to me," he said. "I would have been disappointed, but hey, there's always the week after that."

It was that warrior mindset that put him in this position to begin with. Singh had two knee surgeries last year and kept right on plugging. He continued to play through a back injury this spring after starting the year at No. 26 in the world, when sitting out might have protected his top 50 world ranking.

"The big thing at the end of the day was what had happened to Vijay the last several weeks in the world rankings," Davis said. "He plummeted because he was trying to play thorough injury."

Before the Singh exemption was reconsidered and offered after unanimous agreement of the executive committee, Singh was facing a 36-hole sectional qualifier on Monday and leaning toward not playing.

"When I found out my tee time is 7:30, I said, 'I'm not going to go and qualify,'" he said. "I was really debating it."

There weren't many of his peers who were mulling the relative merits of the USGA handout.

"I think it's cool," said Brad Faxon, one of Singh's playing partners at Memorial on Thursday and an NBC Sports golf analyst. "He's a Hall of Famer. It's a good deal."

Singh won the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2004 and was second in 2008, when he probably should have won, but lost in a sloppy playoff to Steve Lowery.

"It's one of the best courses in the world," Singh said. "Fifty years from now, it's still going to be one of the best courses. It's one of the favorites for everybody."

Singh was so giddy, he even credited the media -- with whom he mostly has had a hate-hate relationship over the years -- with helping him get his foot in the USGA door. Last week, after learning that he had initially been denied an exemption, Singh spoke with Golfweek magazine, which did a creditable job of summarizing his case for consideration. Two days later, the USGA changed its course.

After speaking with Singh's agent a second time, the USGA was already reconsidering the exemption before the story was written -- it outlined Singh's extenuating injury circumstance -- but Singh believes otherwise.

"It was a good article, too," Singh said, smiling broadly. "Made sense to me, anyway."

Frankly, the USGA exemption does, too.