Jeev Milkha Singh

Jeev Milkha Singh (born 15 December 1971) is an Indian professional golfer who became the first player from India to join the European Tour in 1998. He has won four events on the European Tour, becoming the most successful Indian on tour. He was the first Indian golfer to break into the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking in October 2006. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of Padma Shri in 2007.[2]

For his father, the athlete also known as the "Flying Sikh", see Milkha Singh.

Jeev Milkha Singh
Singh at the 2009 Omega European Masters
Personal information
Full nameJeev Milkha Singh
Born (1971-12-15) 15 December 1971
Chandigarh, India
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st)
Nationality India
ResidenceChandigarh, India
SpouseKudrat (m. 2008)
ChildrenHarjai (b. 2010)
Career
CollegeAbilene Christian University
Turned professional1993
Current tour(s)Asian Tour
Former tour(s)European Tour
PGA Tour
Japan Golf Tour
Professional wins20
Highest ranking28 (22 March 2009)[1]
Number of wins by tour
European Tour4
Japan Golf Tour4
Asian Tour5
Other7
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT25: 2008
PGA ChampionshipT9: 2008
U.S. OpenT36: 2007
The Open ChampionshipT69: 2012
Achievements and awards
Arjuna Award1999
Padma Shri2007
Asian Tour
Order of Merit		2006, 2008

Early life

Singh was born in Chandigarh, India to Indian Olympic athlete Milkha Singh and Nirmal Kaur, former captain of the Indian women's volleyball team.[3] Singh attended Abilene Christian University in the United States, obtaining a degree in business and international studies[4] in 1996.[5]

Singh won the NCAA Division II individual golf championship in 1993 in addition to a number of amateur tournaments in the U.S.

Professional career

Singh turned professional in 1993 and his first professional win was at the 1993 Southern Oklahoma State Open, a minor local event. He played mainly in Asia, where he was a regular winner in the mid-1990s. In 1997 he finished seventh at the European Tour qualifying school, and joined the tour the following year.

He became the third golfer to receive Arjuna Award in 1999.[6]

His best season in Europe until 2006 was in 1999, when he came 50th on the Order of Merit. He struggled with injury in the early years of the new millennium. In April 2006 he won the Volvo China Open, becoming the second Indian player to win on the European Tour after Arjun Atwal. He also won the season ending Volvo Masters, which elevated him to a final position of 16th on the Order of Merit. He finished 2006 as the winner of the Asian Tour Order of Merit and capped his season with a pair of back to back wins in Japan to become the first Indian to make the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking.[7] In 2007 he became the first Indian golfer to participate in the Masters Tournament.[8] In August 2008, Singh achieved the highest ranking for an Indian in any major event at the 2008 PGA Championship in Oakland Hills, finishing at T9, making him arguably India's best golfer ever.

Singh finished the 2008 European Tour season ranked 12th on the Order of Merit, and after winning the Barclays Singapore Open won his second Order of Merit title on the Asian Tour.

In 2009, Singh finished the WGC-CA Championship in fourth place, after leading round one.

Singh played on the Nationwide Tour in 2003. He played on the PGA Tour from 2007 to 2010, where his best finish was 4th place at the 2009 WGC-CA Championship.

Singh received India's fourth highest civil honour, the Padma Shri, in 2007.

On 15 July 2012, Singh beat Francesco Molinari in a sudden-death playoff to win the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, the week before the 2012 Open Championship.[9] The win secured Singh a spot in the 2012 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club as a result of finishing as the highest non-qualifier at the event. The win was also Singh's fourth career victory on the European Tour and moved him ahead of Arjun Atwal, making him the most successful Indian golfer in European Tour history.

Personal life

Singh lives in Chandigarh with wife Kudrat and their son Harjai.[10]

Amateur wins (1)

Professional wins (20)

European Tour wins (4)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 16 Apr 2006 Volvo China Open1 72-69-67-70=278 −10 1 stroke Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño
2 29 Oct 2006 Volvo Masters 71-71-68-72=282 −2 1 stroke Luke Donald, Sergio García,
Pádraig Harrington
3 8 Jun 2008 Bank Austria GolfOpen 64-63-71=198* −15 1 stroke Simon Wakefield
4 15 Jul 2012 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open 66-70-68-67=271 −17 Playoff Francesco Molinari

*Note: The 2008 Bank Austria GolfOpen was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.
1Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour

European Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2008 Ballantine's Championship Graeme McDowell Lost to birdie on third extra hole
2 2012 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open Francesco Molinari Won with birdie on first extra hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (4)
Legend
Japan majors (2)
Other Japan Golf Tour (2)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 26 Nov 2006 Casio World Open 66-69-69-68=272 −16 2 strokes David Smail
2 3 Dec 2006 Golf Nippon Series JT Cup 67-65-67-70=269 −11 1 stroke Nobuhiro Masuda
3 27 Jul 2008 Nagashima Shigeo Invitational Sega Sammy Cup 67-74-68-66=275 −13 2 strokes Sushi Ishigaki
4 7 Dec 2008 Golf Nippon Series JT Cup (2) 64-70-68-66=268 −12 2 strokes Brendan Jones, David Smail,
Taichi Teshima

Japan Golf Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1999 Kirin Open K. J. Choi Lost to par on first extra hole

Asian Tour wins (5)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 17 Dec 1995 Philippine Classic 65-73-72-73=283 −5 1 stroke Preecha Senaprom
2 21 Jan 1996
(1995 season)		 Asian Matchplay Championship 3 & 1 Boonchu Ruangkit
3 17 Oct 1999 Lexus International 69-69-65-72=275 −13 Playoff Taimur Hussain, Zaw Moe
4 16 Apr 2006 Volvo China Open1 72-69-67-70=278 −10 1 stroke Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño
5 16 Nov 2008 Barclays Singapore Open 73-68-67-69=277 −7 1 stroke Ernie Els, Pádraig Harrington

1Co-sanctioned by the European Tour

Asian Tour playoff record (1–3)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1997 Ericsson Asia-Pacific Masters Darren Cole Lost to par on first extra hole
2 1998 Thailand Open James Kingston Lost to par on first extra hole
3 1999 Lexus International Taimur Hussain, Zaw Moe Won with birdie on third extra hole
Hussain eliminated by par on first hole
4 2008 Ballantine's Championship Graeme McDowell Lost to birdie on third extra hole

Korean Tour wins (1)

Other wins (6)
  • 1993 (2) Southern Oklahoma State Open, Bukit Kiara Golf Championship (Malaysia)
  • 1994 (1) Northern Indian Open
  • 1995 (3) Thailand PGA Championship, Mahindra BPGC Open (India), Toyota Crown Open (Thailand)

Results in major championships
Singh at the 2008 Bank Austria GolfOpen
Tournament200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016
Masters Tournament T37 T25 CUT
U.S. Open T62 T59 T36 CUT CUT
The Open Championship CUT T69
PGA Championship CUT T9 T67 CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament00000132
U.S. Open00000053
The Open Championship00000021
PGA Championship00001142
Totals000012148
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (2002 U.S. Open – 2007 U.S. Open)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Results in The Players Championship
Tournament 2009
The Players Championship T64

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships
Tournament200720082009201020112012
Match Play R64 R64 R16
Championship T28 T26 4
Invitational T51 T64 T67
Champions T33 T23 T46
  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

European Tour professional career summary
YearStartsCuts MadeWins2nd3rdTop 10Top 25Earnings (€)Money list rank
199410000000n/a1
199511000004,200n/a1
199621000006,944n/a1
199711000008,689n/a1
199822110001583,823104
1999241501128222,78350
20001350002368,199145
2001171000024174,011108
20022080001283,347152
200321000001,773n/a1
2004530001128,817n/a1
2005750001242,845n/a1
20061711200481,173,17716
2007312600119717,79046
200826201208151,218,20912
2009221700038847,84434
2010151000027393,44974
2011301700028329,26294
2012251910026926,06232
201323600015156,643133
Total*30419043233916,487,98762

1 Not a full Tour member in these years

  • As of 2013 season

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

References
  1. "Week 12 2009 Ending 22 Mar 2009" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  2. "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  3. "Jeev Milkha Singh," the south-asian.com June 2002. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
  4. "Carry on, Jeev," The Telegraph (Calcutta, India), 4 November 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  5. "Wildcats lead way as LSC honors all-time top performers," Archived 29 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine ACU Today, Summer 2007, p.32. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  6. "Gaganjeet Bhullar becomes seventh golfer to receive Arjuna". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  7. Punjab Golf Association confers award on Jeev Milkha Singh, zeenews.com, 31 December 2006.
  8. "Record 34 European Tour Members Invited to Augusta". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  9. "Phil Mickelson finishes with 74". ESPN Golf. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  10. "Jeev Milkha Singh profile". Archived from the original on 6 August 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
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