THAILAND: GOLF - Vijay Singh visits Thai monk

Fijian golfer Vijay Singh returned to Thailand to pay respects on Friday (October 26) to a monk who taught him the principals of Buddhist meditation and predicted he would rise to the very top of his game. Singh, a Sikh, was introduced to Buddhist monk Phra Khru Paowana Waranusat by a friend in 2002. And it was in the monk's secluded Wat Pai Lueng temple on the outskirts of Bangkok where the golfer spent several weeks learning the principals of the Buddhist faith. "It's nothing new, coming to a temple like this, I feel like coming every day," Singh told reporters during his visit to Wat Pai Lueng. "You know, it puts me in a more peaceful place. Like I said, I have a good feeling when I come over here," said Singh. After the weeks he spent at the temple in 2002, Singh asked the monk how many titles he would win and the monk accurately predicted five in 2003 and nine in 2004. In fact 2004 proved an incredible season for Singh, who grew up in Fiji and was taught golf by his airplane technician father. It was the year when he ended Tiger Woods' record run of 264 consecutive weeks at the top of golf. Asked if meditation helped his game, Singh said: "Well it calms you down, sure. You know, I don't meditate as such but I do think about a lot of breathing stuff that deals with meditation you know. It kind of clears your mind, puts you in a more peaceful place ... it's pretty rough out there." Singh knelt in front of Phra Khru Paowana, paying his respects, and was given an amulet blessed by the monk. "Let's wait and see how he'll fare in the next season," Phra Khru Paowana said. "I just teach meditation as it is in Buddhist practice as much as I can, and that's spreading it to the world." Singh, currently ranked number 12 in the world, is third on the 2007 PGA Tour money winner's list, having earned some 4.7 million dollars.

ITN Source | October 27, 2007

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