GRAND BLANC, Mich. - Just when it looked like Vijay Singh would cruise to another Buick Open victory, Tiger Woods made the final round interesting.

Woods made a late surge from eight shots down to Sunday but his 6-under 66 wasn't enough to complete the comeback as Singh closed with a 70 and came away with a four-stroke victory.

After three spectacular rounds, average was good enough for Singh, who won the Buick Open for the third time with a 24-under 264.

"I wasn't as aggressive," he said. "I felt very much in control so I didn't want to make any mistakes because nobody was making a charge. To protect the lead is not a fun way to play."

What was looking like an anticlimactic final round got some juice when Woods got rolling.

The No. 1 player vaulted into contention with six birdies and an eagle in an nine-hole stretch.

"I thought if I played a great back nine, I might be in position just in case Vijay messed up, but he's playing too well to do that," he said after tying for second.

Following his 17-foot putt for birdie at No. 17 to pull within two shots, Woods cupped his left ear to coax a louder reaction from the raucous gallery.

"I wanted to know how loud those drunk guys get," he said. "They were pretty hammered, they were wobbling as it was."

Woods' drive at the final hole sailed wide right while the second-ranked Singh, playing two groups behind, made his second birdie to take a three-shot lead. Woods bogeyed the final hole and fell another shot back.

Zach Johnson (69) tied for second - his best finish this year - at 20 under.

"The cream rises to the top, and that's the best cream there is," Johnson said.

Robert Allenby (65) finished 18 under, alone in fourth. Allenby aced the 179-yard 11th, helping him finish in the top 10 for the first time this year.

Singh is the first three-time champion at the Buick Open, a tournament that started in 1958. He's also the first to repeat since Tony Lema in 1965.

The 42-year-old Fijian has won four events this year and 28 in his career. Singh trails only Woods' 44 victories and leads Phil Mickelson by two among active PGA Tour players.

Singh's five-shot lead was his largest entering a final round. The four times he led by three after 54 holes, he won each event, including the 2000 Masters.

The large cushion allowed him to play conservatively, making two birdies and 16 pars.

"I wasn't aggressive, but I didn't need to be," said.

Singh matched the Buick Open's 54-hole record of 22-under 194.

"You never win the golf tournament on Saturday, but you can put yourself in position to win," he said.

If he shot 67 or better for the sixth straight time at Warwick Hills, he would've eclipsed Robert Wrenn's tournament mark of 26 under, set in 1987.

"I wasn't trying to break the record, my goal was to win the golf tournament," he said.

His last victory here, 60 miles north of Detroit, started a run of six wins in eight events, including the PGA Championship. He went on to win player of the year honors.

"I'm playing better this year than I did last year," Singh said. "I'm excited. I just hope I can follow what I did last year. It's going to be almost impossible, but I'm going to give it a shot."

Singh will go for his third PGA Championship title and fourth major victory in two weeks.

Woods played for the first time since winning the British Open two weeks ago. At Baltusrol in New Jersey, he'll shoot for his 11th major title and third this year.

"I've played really well in the majors this year, hopefully the PGA will be a culmination of that," he said.

Woods had an up-and-down tournament. He opened with a 71, then had an 11-under 61 - his career best round in relation to par - before falling back with a 70 on Saturday. He tied the tournament record with three eagles, including two in a row in the second round.

"I had it going at times, but I couldn't keep it together for 72 holes and that's disappointing," he said.

AP-ES-08-01-05 0733EDT

KETTERING, Ohio - Allen Doyle came out of the pack at the U.S. Senior Open with a record-setting round, leaving the rest of the leaderboard behind.Doyle shot an 8-under 63 Sunday to win his third Champions Tour major while others tossed away their chances."I fooled 'em again," he said with a grin.Doyle had a bogey-free round that included eight birdies, and he managed to avoid the trouble that knocked third-round co-leaders Craig Stadler and Loren Roberts, as well as D.A. Weibring and others out of contention. Doyle beat the course record by a stroke and his 10-under 274 total was the lowest by a Senior Open winner."No one said a word to me, no one thought I had a chance," Doyle said. "That's the way it's been for me from Day 1. It doesn't bother me one bit. ... It happens. You just have to put a low score up and make it happen."Doyle finished one shot ahead of Roberts and Weibring. The victory, worth $470,000, was his 10th on the Champions Tour.Stadler led by three shots with 10 holes to play, but came undone and finished four shots behind Doyle. Roberts was in control until making a double-bogey at No. 11. Weibring was on top by a shot with two holes left, but bogeyed both.Greg Norman and Tom Watson, among others, had prime opportunities to steal the championship, but failed to make putts on the undulating and increasingly slick greens at NCR Country Club.Doyle, who turned 57 on Tuesday, has a swing that looks as if he's using sawed-off clubs, and a form that he honed as a child while swinging in a room with low ceilings.He was an afterthought as the final round began, teeing off 70 minutes before the last group. Then, he had birdies at Nos. 1, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 to turn in 30 - matching the tournament record. The only long birdie putt he had was a 20-footer at No. 8.Doyle then birdied the 10th and 14th holes - both on 15-footers - and mustered some gutty pars down the stretch, well aware of the troubles confronting the leaders. His day's work done, he sat back to watch the adventures of the rest of the contenders before moving on to the range to hit balls and prepare for a playoff.Stadler held a three-shot lead as he played the par-4 No. 9, but a double-bogey - followed by four more bogeys and another double - gave him a 76. He played the final 10 holes in 7 over."Everything I did was wrong," Stadler said.His playing partner, Roberts, then took the lead with birdies at the ninth and 10th holes.But at the 380-yard, par-4 11th, failed to get out of a greenside bunker and also made a double-bogey. He closed with a 73 and tied for second with Weibring at 275."The 11th hole was my whole tournament," Roberts said.Weibring took over the lead with a 3-foot birdie putt at No. 10, and then parred the next six holes to maintain his one-shot advantage.At the 17th, he hit his second shot into the deep rough over a greenside bunker and failed to get up and down, falling into a tie with Doyle. On the 18th hole, Weibring hit his second shot through the green. His chip rolled 10 feet past and he barely missed his par putt."You can always look back that I bogeyed the last two holes, but I'll remember that I played better every day, got in position to win and that things just didn't work out," Weibring said.Norman shot a 69 and was at 276, but didn't have a birdie on the back nine. Watson, who shared fifth place at 277 with Wayne Levi (68), shot a final-round 71 and never threw a scare into the leaders.In the end, it was Doyle's day."I'm not afraid of anybody because all they can do is beat me," Doyle said. "So I come to every tournament with nothing to lose. I show up. You can't imagine what a wonderful life this is. And it just got better."