Vijay Singh broke clear of the field before the turn before cruising to a two-stroke victory over Rocco Mediate at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando on Sunday.

Only one stroke separated the top eight players at one stage early in the final round, before Singh made four birdies in five holes starting at the fifth in demanding conditions at Bay Hill.

The 44-year-old from Fiji was not threatened on the back nine, shooting 67 to finish at eight-under-par 272, his first victory in 15 starts here.

Singh collects more than £500,000 for his 31st PGA Tour victory, matching “Lighthorse” Harry Cooper for the most wins on tour by a non-American.

He said: “It means a lot. This was my first ever tournament in America, and I love this place.

“I hate the 18th hole but I love the rest of it.

“Having won Jack’s tournament (the Memorial) and now Arnie’s, it’s a great honour.”

Tiger Woods, who started the day five shots behind, made an ominous start with birdies at the first two holes, but he had a shocking finish, dropping six shots in the final three holes.

Even though he was out of contention by then, it was still a shock to see the world’s greatest player find the water at the par-three 17th, which he double-bogeyed, and the par-four 18th, where he made triple.

His 43 strokes coming home matched his career worst total for nine holes, his only other 43 coming on the front nine in the second round of the 1996 Tour Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Woods, a four-time winner at Bay Hill, shot 76 to tie for 22nd at three over.

Collated final round scores and totals in the USPGA Tour Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard, Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Florida, United States

(USA unless stated, par 70):

272 Vijay Singh (Fij) 70 68 67 67

274 Rocco Mediate 66 65 76 67

275 Vaughn Taylor 64 71 67 73

276 Ben Curtis 68 67 69 72

277 John Rollins 69 65 72 71, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 66 69 71 71, Tom Lehman 67 69 69 72

278 Luke Donald (Eng) 68 71 70 69

279 Jerry Kelly 67 69 70 73, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 66 70 70 73, Stephen Ames (Can) 68 67 72 72

280 Shaun Micheel 67 68 71 74, Kyle Reifers 70 68 72 70

281 Paul Casey (Eng) 64 70 73 74, Sean O’Hair 66 70 72 73, Boo Weekley 68 72 69 72, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 69 70 70 72

282 Retief Goosen (Rsa) 69 68 70 75, Bart Bryant 70 68 70 74, Ernie Els (Rsa) 69 70 71 72, Scott Verplank 67 73 70 72

283 Tiger Woods 64 73 70 76, Chad Campbell 71 69 68 75, Bo Van Pelt 67 70 70 76, Chris Couch 68 70 69 76, Brandt Snedeker 70 70 69 74, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 68 71 72 72

Source - www.sportinglife.com