GOLF/Houston Open: FIJI'S Vijay Singh ended his longest drought as a PGA Tour member when he beat Darren Clarke by five shots in the $4million Houston Open at Woodlands yesterday.

Singh at 22 under par left Clarke alone in second place at 17 under with Jose Maria Olazabal three shots further back in third place.

Singh, without a win in the US since his Masters victory two years ago, began the day three shots better than Clarke and immediately birdied the first hole to take a firm grip on the proceedings.

Both players went to the turn in 34 with Clarke making birdie at the fifth and both players making birdie three's at the seventh.

The two par fives on the back nine made a big difference to the Clarke challenge.

Singh birdied both the 13th and 15th holes but Clarke could only manage pars.

Ranked eighth in the world, Singh has gone 50 PGA Tour starts without a win, seven more than his previous dry spell between 1995 and 1997.

Singh used Saturdays's third round to extend his lead to three shots over Clarke with a six-under-par 66.

Singh began the day two shots better than Clarke and built a six-stroke advantage before settling for a 54-hole total of 18-under 198, matching the tournament record set by Curtis Strange in 1980.

Singh began the third round with three pars, then birdied six of the next eight holes to build a six-shot cushion.

He played the last five holes in one-over but secured his 11th 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour.

Clarke, who defeated Tiger Woods to lift the 2000 Matchplay Championship, birdied three of the last six holes to make up ground on his playing partner.

Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain was the only other player within six shots of Singh, sitting five back after carding a brilliant third round 64 - the lowest round of the day. The two-time Masters champion had nine birdies between the fifth and 18th holes.

FINAL SCORES: 198 - V Singh (Fiji) 67 65 66 68; 272 - D Clarke (N Ire) 69 65 67 71; 273 - J M Olazabal 71 68 64 70; 275 -J Haas 67 70 69 69 277 - T Pernice, Jr. 71 70 67 69; J Leonard 70 68 69 70. 278 - J.P. Hayes 67 68 71 72 279 - J Huston 70 73 68 68; F Funk 71 70 67 71 280 - S Verplank 67 70 72 71; N Price 68 71 69 72; B Baird 70 71 67 72; 281 - F Nobilo 70 70 70 71; T Byrum 70 70 70 7; D Toms 69 72 67 73; G Chalmers 69 72 66 74; F Couples 68 71 68 74; 282 - L Roberts 70 71 70 71; S Ames 71 71 68 72.