Chopra slumps to tied 21st, Vijay Singh grabs lead in Western Open

Lemont, Illinois, July 9 (UNI) Overnight leader Daniel Chopra played his worst golf of the week carding a horrendous five-over 76 to slump to the tied 21st spot conceding the top spot to Fijian Vijay Singh, who shot a three-under 68 to become the sole leader after the penultimate round of the five million dollar Cialis Western Open here.

It was a disastrous performance by the Indian-born Swede after previous two rounds of 66 as he slid down the leaderboard.

Chopra had a nightmarish front nine hitting four bogeys -- including a brace on the fourth and fifth -- and failed to fire a single birdie.

His backward journey started in a similar fashion as he dropped two consecutive shots on the 10th and 11th. He tried to arrest the slide by hitting a birdie on the 12th and 15th but a dropped shot on the in between and the damage done by the poor front-nine spoilt his chances of going under-par.

Meanwhile, Vijay Singh was the major gainer from Chopra's pathetic show and came up with a decent performance, firing four birdies against a solitary bogey on the ninth in his round of 68 to take the lead.

''I just have to stay ahead of everybody else, I guess,'' a smiling Vijay said after the day's play.

''I've got to go out there and play my game. I don't think I have to worry about what the leader board is doing until probably the last few holes on the back nine. It's a golf course where if you drive the ball well and make some putts, you can score well,'' he added.

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