Indian golf comes of age
India, where cricket is king, has produced
several princes of the golfing world whose names are becoming as
recognisable globally as Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Azharuddin.
Jeev Milkha Singh, Gaurav Ghei and Ali Sher first came to
international prominence last year when they beat holders Scotland
in the Alfred Dunhill Cup finals in St Andrews, Scotland.
That win miffed Europe's number one Colin Montgomerie and, as he
sulked, the picture of the joyful Indian trio, wrapped up against
the elements in woolly hats and jumpers, was beamed around the
world.
Although Jeev, Ghei and Sher had made headlines previously in
Asia, their combined performances on that chilly October day in
Scotland awakened the world to the fact that India possessed high
calibre golfers capable of holding their own in the best company.
Jeev, whose father - Flying Sikh Milkha Singh - became a national hero
when he won a silver medal in the 400 metres at the 1968 Olympics,
and Ghei have gone on to further establish themselves in the sport.
Ghei became the first Indian to qualify for the prestigious
British Open at Royal Troon in July this year, and although he missed the cut,
the 28-year-old felt that his future in the game was rosier as a
result of tasting golf at the highest level.
Although Jeev failed to qualify for the British Open, he returned
to the Asian PGA's Omega Tour with high ambitions of making it to
number one on the Omega order of merit.
He failed to retain the Philip Morris Asia Cup in Korea last
month - Singh took the title the previous year in runaway fashion -
but literally came within a few feet of adding to his three Omega
tour titles at lask week's US $ 500,000 Asia Pacific Ericsson
Masters at Bintan Lagoon Golf and Beach Resort in Indonesia.
He challenged for top spot all week, and a final round 72 saw him
tie for first place with Darren Cole of Australia. With rain
beginning to fall, Singh and Cole went head to head in a play-off
with the Indian missing a four-foot birdie putt.
''I made a big mistake - i rushed the putt,'' admitted Jeev.
''The rain was getting heavy and I wanted to finish off the hole
quickly. I felt very uncomfortable over the putt - I should have
stepped away but did not.''
Second place still won Jeev $55,650 and took him to third
place in the Omega Order of Merit with $91,300 dollars - more than
double what he earned last year.
''It's my goal to win the Order of Merit and although I'm
disappointed missing out on the title, second place has helped me climb up
the rankings'', said Jeev.
He was also delighted that another young Indian player, Arjun
Atwal, finished fifth and two others, Vivek Bhandari and Jyoti
Randhawa, were 53rd and 56th respectively.
Atwal, who led the Johnnie Walker Classic on the European Tour in
January and won the Southern India Open last month, was in first
place after the first and third rounds but carded a 76 in the final
round.
Jeev and Atwal, 24, have taken different routes to their present
standing as top performers on the Omega Tour but have become firm
friends on the road. Said Jeev, ''I have known Arjun Singh since 1995. I
think we first met at the first ever event on the Omega Tour, the
international in Thailand in mid-1995. We had not met before that, as when I was playing golf in India,
Arjun was at high school in the United States. Since 1995, however,
we have been on the road together and often been roommates. It was
good that both of us were in the final group at Bintan.''
UNI
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