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CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
After an outstanding year in 2006, Jeev’s form dipped
slightly in 2007. In the 2007 Johnnie Walker Classic, Jeev
secured joint 25th slot over the Blue Canyon course and
recorded his best finish, a joint seventh, towards the end
of the year at the Dunlop Phoenix Open in Japan, indicating
a return to form. He played much of his golf on the European
Tour but only managed to finish the season in 46th position
on the Order of Merit (after securing 16th slot in 2006
with over one million euros in prizemoney).During his purple
patch in 2006, he won four times across the world, lifting
his maiden Asian Tour's Order of Merit crown and leaping
to 37th place on the Official World Golf Ranking. He ended
a frustrating seven-year winless drought with a one-stroke
victory at the Volvo China Open in April which was an emotional
triumph as a wrist injury had curtailed his progress after
winning four titles in the late 1990s, the last success
being the 1999 Lexus International in Thailand. The Volvo
victory sparked a rich vein of form as he went on to win
the Volvo Masters, the European Tour's season-ending event,
in Spain in October and then back-to-back titles in Japan
at the Casio World Open, his first triumph in Japan, and
the Golf Nippon Series JT Cup. He became the third Indian
to win the AsianOrder of Merit title with record earnings
of US$591,884. Such was his great form that the Indian also
notched no fewer than 15 other top-10s on the Asian, Japan
and European Tours. He also qualified and played in all
four rounds at the US Open in Winged Foot. His success was
recognized when he won the 2006 Johnnie Walker Asian Golfer
of the Year Award. Prior to 2006, Jeev had come close to
winning at the start of the 2005 season in the Okinawa Open.
He led the third round by four shots but was overtaken by
a fast-charging Kiyoshi Miyazato in the final round and
settled for tied second place. In 2002, Jeev became the
first player from his country to qualify for the US Open.
He carded four straight 75s to settle for joint 62nd position
in his first appearance in a Major. His American adventure
continued at the US PGA Tour Qualifying School finals where
he was on the verge of securing his card for 2003 before
a disappointing final round 77 when a level-par round would
have seen him through. Jeev was also the first Indian golfer
to qualify for the European Tour. Having won his card at
the end of 1997, he contended for numerous titles, but relinquished
his playing rights in 2002 and focused primarily in Asia
and Japan. In 1996, he was part of the Indian team that
stunned Scotland in the Dunhill Cup in St Andrews where
Jeev beat Andrew Coltart. Jeev wrote his name into the European
Tour record books at the 2001 Dubai Desert Classic. On his
way to a sixth place finish, he needed just 94 putts in
four rounds for an average of 23.5 putts per round.
ASIAN
TOUR VICTORIES
(5) 1995 Philippine Classic, 1995 Asian Matchplay Championship,
Philippines, 1996 Philip Morris Asia Cup, Korea, 1999 Lexus
International, Thailand, 2006 Volvo China Open
OTHER
VICTORIES
(4) 1994 Shinhan Donghae Open, Korea, 2006 Volvo Masters,
Spain, 2006 Casio World Open, Japan; 2006 Golf Nippon Series
JT Cup
PERSONAL
Jeev is the son of Olympic runner, Milkha Singh. He struggled
with injury in the early 2000s and lost his form and confidence.
Says yoga and reading self-improvement books have helped
tremendously. He was a captain’s pick for Asia in
the inaugural Phoenix Dynasty Cup Presented by Visa against
Japan in 2003. Comes from Chandigarh which has produced
top golfers such as Amritinder Singh and Amandeep Johl.
Previously trained under Sam Frost but decided to do it
alone in 2004, relying on Amrintinder's help and analyzing
his own game through video tapes. |
