Singh defends in John Deere Classic

SILVIS, Ill., July 7 (UPI) -- Defending champion Vijay Singh, a three-time winner this year, leads the field in the John Deere Classic in Illinois.

The tournament begins Thursday at the par-71, 7,183-yard TPC at Deere Run.

Singh won last year with a 16-under-par 268, four strokes ahead of Chris Riley, Jonathan Byrd and J.L. Lewis.

This year's field includes Shigeki Maruyama, Jay Haas, Stewart Cink and Chris DiMarco. Others are the 2001 and 2002 winners, David Gossett and J.P. Hayes.

Many of the tour's top players, including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Davis Love III, are passing up the Deere event as they prepare for next week's British Open.

Singh's victories this year came in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, the Houston Open and the HP Classic of New Orleans. He has nine top-10 finishes in 18 events.