ORLANDO, Fla. — Vijay Singh kept staring at the silver trophy from the Arnold Palmer Invitational, turning it slightly at the base to make sure his name was finally on the list of champions. Even then, it must have been hard to believe.

Singh has been coming to Bay Hill for 15 years. He had left with nothing but three runner-up finishes and plenty of heartache. There was that bogey-bogey finish in 1994 to lose to Loren Roberts, the 7-iron into the lake on the 18th two years ago to lose to Kenny Perry.

He made sure that wouldn’t happen Sunday. He played so well in the middle, it didn’t matter how bad it got at the end. Even with a bogey-bogey-par finish, the 44-year-old Fijian still matched the best score of the final round with a 3-under 67 that gave him a two-shot victory over Rocco Mediate.

Singh, who finished at 8-under 272, became the first multiple winner on the PGA Tour this year. His 31st career win tied him with Harry “Lighthorse” Cooper of England for most by a foreign-born player.

“I love this place,” Singh said. “I hate the 18th hole, but I love the rest of it. It feels great. Having won Jack’s tournament (Memorial) and now Arnie’s, it’s a great one to get.”

Tiger Woods’ chances ended with a three-putt double bogey on the 11th hole, and then a bad day got even worse. He hit his tee shot into the water on the par-3 17th and made double bogey. After chipping out of the rough on the 18th, he hit his third into the water and made triple bogey for a 43 on the back nine. He closed with a 76 and tied for 22nd, ending his streak of 13 straight top 10s worldwide, nine on the PGA Tour.