CARY — Vijay Singh ended a three-year wait for victory with his sixth PGA Tour Champions title at the SAS Championship, securing a two-shot win over Ernie Els for his first triumph since the Ally Challenge in 2023. The Fijian's success came just three days after his regular caddie fired him in the build-up to the event.
Speaking after rolling in the final putt on Sunday, the three-time Major winner revealed he had called former looper Wayne De Haas as a late replacement. "All a coincidence. He lost his job on the Korn Ferry and my caddie fired me this week, and I just called up Wayne and I said hey, are you ready?" Singh explained. "He said yeah. You know, it was a good team because I missed him, I missed what he brings to the teamwork. It was so much easier to play golf with somebody really knowing what they're doing."
De Haas, a South African former professional who made multiple appearances on the DP World Tour, had previously worked with Els and current Players Championship winner Cameron Young and was most recently on the bag for Singh at this year's Masters, where Singh missed the cut following rounds of 79 and 75 at Augusta National. Although it is unclear who De Haas had been caddying for on the Korn Ferry Tour, he described Singh's phone call on Tuesday as "one of the best in his life". Speaking on the 18th green after the win, he said: "This one is a bittersweet one for me. Unfortunately, my dad passed two years ago. I was on the 8th tee box (during the SAS Championship) when I found out my dad had passed away. So this is for him."
It is not the first caddie split on tour in 2026. David Lipsky's caddie Darren Woolard parted ways prior to the final round of the Baycurrent Classic, while one month earlier at the Biltmore Championship, Alejandro Tosti's caddie Cliff Ellis walked off midway through the first round, forcing the Argentinian to enlist a spectator from the gallery.
The victory moved Singh up to 33rd in the Schwab Cup standings and secured his place in the PGA Tour Champions Playoffs, which begin with the Stifel Charity Classic. Just 72 men are in the field, with 54 progressing to the Simmons Bank Championship before 36 players earn their places in the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.