Renewed belief boosts Singh

Vijay Singh: Was the only man to break 70 during a brutal second round at Kiawah Island

Two-time USPGA champion Vijay Singh revealed that a renewed sense of belief helped him to battle his way into a share of the halfway lead at Kiawah Island.

Singh is without a win on the PGA Tour in nearly four years, but feels he is now playing well enough to end his drought by claiming the fourth major title of his career.

Top-10 finishes in his last two events, the Open Championship at Lytham and the Canadian Open, have given the 49-year-old a timely confidence boost, demonstrated by his performance in Friday's second round.

Singh was the only man to break 70 on a day when strong winds took their toll and now finds himself in a tie for the lead at four-under-par alongside Tiger Woods and Carl Pettersson.

"I've been playing well for a while," explained Singh. "I've just been telling myself 'I'm swinging the club really well', but nothing is going.

"I just started believing that I can do it. I was so negative for a long, long time. I had great sessions on the driving range and just couldn't take it on the golf course.

"All of a sudden it clicked. It clicked at the British (Open), I played well at Greenbrier but didn't finish it off. The last two weeks have been great, and so far it's been unbelievable here."

Tough conditions

Singh acknowledged that the conditions the players encountered at Kiawah Island on Friday were amongst the most brutal he had experienced in his entire career.

Indeed, the veteran Fijian admitted he would not have been out playing the course through choice, but was delighted by his battling performance.

"After a while you don't really think about your score," he continued. "You just think about each hole, each shot and just try not to mess up.

"It was one of my better rounds. I didn't strike the ball as good as yesterday, but I scored really, really well.

"It's one of the tougher conditions I've ever played in and put this golf course in the middle of all that, it becomes even more brutal.

"If you had a golf course like this and you asked me to go and play golf in windy conditions, I'd say no. But it is a major, and we have to go out there and just struggle. These are really strong winds.

"I love contending in the majors, but you just contend with yourself and try to make a score if you can."