Vijay Singh decided after he lost the 1996 World Matchplay final that sitting at home with his feet up was no way to spend his leisure time. The lanky Fijian felt so tired after his 3 and 2 defeat by Ernie Els that he knew he needed to improve his stamina.

So he hired a personal fitness trainer to build him up and on Sunday he reaped the benefit when he beat Els by one hole to capture the title the South African had held for a record three years.

"I feel more energy this year than I did last year. I feel stronger," he said. "I hired a trainer to train me up a little bit and it is working.

"I train at home in Florida when I have weeks off instead of sitting around doing nothing. Most players once they hit 30 have to do some sort of exercise," he said.

Singh, 34, had already profited from his training earlier this year.

He won the South African Open in January to end 18 months without a victory and on the US Tour, where he is based, he won the Memorial Tournament in June and the Buick Open in August.

Singh came through one of the toughest weeks in the Matchplay's 34-year history as heavy rain before the tournament saturated Wentworth's West Course which had already been lengthened to 7,006 yards by extensions to the 11th and 12th holes.

It played to every inch of its length and the players had to survive more persistent rain through Saturday's semi-finals that led to them asking about a postponement.

Now that he has realised his ambition at Wentworth, Singh can turn his attention to another unfulfilled aim - winning a major championship.