Golf/Dunhill Links Championship: If there is no rest for the wicked, then there is none either for the tormented, as represented by those members of the US Tour who are not Vijay Singh writes David Davies at Carnoustie.

The tall Fijian, the world number one for the past six weeks, has been giving all and sundry among the golfing elite in the United States the hardest time they have had since Tiger Woods won nine times in 2000. He has already won eight tournaments and now he wants to surpass the Woods mark.

"That's my goal," he said as he prepared for the Dunhill Links Championship, which starts today at St Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie. "I'd like to get to 10 if I can," he added, "but two out of the last three, that's a tall order. However, I've just won five out of the last six so I'm sure I'm capable."

Singh is in the form of his life, in that blessed state where all the putts that really matter go in, and it all began with a few moments of introspection after the Open Championship at Royal Troon this year. One of the favourites, he finished 20th and was disgusted with himself. "I sat down and analysed what part of my game needed help," he said yesterday, "and, you know, putting just stood way up there."

At that time Singh was an adherent of the "belly" putter but not only was it not working particularly well, he had been troubled by the fact that many of his peers, including his good friend Ernie Els, had said they thought that form of putter should not be a part of golf. Because the top of the putter shaft is anchored in the midriff the whole instrument is supposedly less prone to accidents when used by those of a nervous disposition, but the authorities are known to be upset by its emergence and the word is that it may, at some point in the future, be banned.

Singh decided to abandon his experiment and returned to a less controversial implement. He has a 2,000-square-foot practice green at home in Florida and for a whole week he did nothing but work on his putting with a normal putter.

And what happened? "The best thing was that I won the first tournament I played when I went back to a conventional model. In fact, the very first tournament round I played with it I shot 63, so that took a lot of pressure off. Then I went and won the next tournament too.

"It made a big difference to my game. I mean, if you're putting well you can chip a bit more confidently and you can attack the pins a little bit more, knowing that if you do miss you can chip-and-putt it.

"And you can be more aggressive with the driver, knowing that if you miss the fairway you can get up-and-down if you miss the green. That's what putting well does for you.

"I averaged 34-plus putts per round in the Open and you cannot win tournaments doing that. If you look at my last five or six tournaments I'm probably one of the best putters on the Tour right now."

That title used to belong to Woods, and he is still a magician on the greens. The problem is that nowadays he is holing good putts for pars, not birdies, the latter being difficult to obtain after visiting the trees from the tee.

Everyone has a theory about his decline - he is now third in the world rankings - and Singh is no different. He believes Woods has acquired a new body shape as he has grown older and has not adjusted his swing accordingly.

Woods, a fitness fanatic, is undoubtedly broader about the chest and shoulders.

"I'm not saying he's not still strong," said Singh, "but you do slow down a little bit. So the golf swing has to match your body ability, and I don't think he has progressed in that way. I have adjusted accordingly and for the better and I don't think he has done that. I'm sure once he figures that one out he'll be okay."

Lee Westwood, meanwhile, is looking forward to retaining his title, particularly since in winning it he hit one of the great shots witnessed at St Andrews' notorious 17th, the Road Hole. Leading by one but needing to find the green with his second, he hit a fabulous five-iron. "One of my best, definitely," he said yesterday. "It's not good if you leave it short and not good if you go long, and right and left are not great either. But I executed it exactly the way I had planned it in my mind."