Jeev Milkha Singh
Jeev Milkha Singh | |
---|---|
— Golfer — | |
Singh at the 2009 Omega European Masters | |
Personal information | |
Full name | Jeev Milkha Singh |
Born |
Chandigarh, India | 15 December 1971
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
Weight | 165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st) |
Nationality | India |
Residence | Chandigarh, India |
Spouse | Kudrat (m. 2008) |
Children | Harjai (b. 2010) |
Career | |
College | Abilene Christian University |
Turned professional | 1993 |
Current tour(s) | Asian Tour |
Former tour(s) |
European Tour PGA Tour |
Professional wins | 20 |
Number of wins by tour | |
European Tour | 4 |
Japan Golf Tour | 4 |
Asian Tour | 6 |
Other | 7 |
Best results in major championships | |
Masters Tournament | T25: 2008 |
U.S. Open | T36: 2007 |
The Open Championship | T69: 2012 |
PGA Championship | T9: 2008 |
Achievements and awards | |
Arjuna Award | 1999 |
Padma Shri | 2007 |
Asian Tour Order of Merit | 2006, 2008 |
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.[1]
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.[2] Singh attended Abilene Christian University in the United States, obtaining a degree in business and international studies[3] in 1996.[4]
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.[5]
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.[6] In 2007 he became the first Indian golfer to participate in the Masters Tournament.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]
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 Open | 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 |
European Tour playoff record (1–1)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
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 |
Asian Tour wins (6)
- 1995 (2) Philippine Classic, Asian Matchplay Championship
- 1996 (1) Philip Morris Asia Cup
- 1999 (1) Lexus International
- 2006 (1) Volvo China Open (co-sanctioned with the European Tour)
- 2008 (1) Barclays Singapore Open
Japan Golf Tour wins (4)
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 | 64-70-68-66=268 | −12 | 2 strokes | Brendan Jones, David Smail, Taichi Teshima |
Other wins (7)
- 1993 (2) Southern Oklahoma State Open, Bukit Kiara Golf Championship (Malaysia)
- 1994 (2) Shinhan Donghae Open (South Korea – not an Asian Tour event), Northern Indian Open
- 1995 (3) Thailand PGA Championship, Mahindra BPGC Open (India), Toyota Crown Open (Thailand)
Results in major championships
Tournament | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T37 | T25 | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
U.S. Open | T62 | DNP | DNP | DNP | T59 | T36 | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT |
The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T69 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | T9 | T67 | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.
Summary
Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 8 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (2002 U.S. Open – 2007 U.S. Open)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1
Results in World Golf Championship events
Tournament | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Accenture Match Play Championship | R64 | DNP | R64 | R16 | DNP | DNP |
Cadillac Championship | T28 | T26 | 4 | DNP | DNP | DNP |
Bridgestone Invitational | T51 | DNP | T64 | DNP | DNP | T67 |
HSBC Champions | – | – | T33 | DNP | T23 | T46 |
DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top 10.
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.
European Tour professional career summary
Year | Starts | Cuts Made | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top 10 | Top 25 | Earnings (€) | Money list rank |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1994 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a1 |
1995 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,200 | n/a1 |
1996 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6,944 | n/a1 |
1997 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,689 | n/a1 |
1998 | 22 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 83,823 | 104 |
1999 | 24 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 222,783 | 50 |
2000 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 68,199 | 145 |
2001 | 17 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 174,011 | 108 |
2002 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 83,347 | 152 |
2003 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,773 | n/a1 |
2004 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28,817 | n/a1 |
2005 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 42,845 | n/a1 |
2006 | 17 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 1,173,177 | 16 |
2007 | 31 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 717,790 | 46 |
2008 | 26 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 15 | 1,218,209 | 12 |
2009 | 22 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 847,844 | 34 |
2010 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 393,449 | 74 |
2011 | 30 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 329,262 | 94 |
2012 | 25 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 926,062 | 32 |
2013 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 156,643 | 133 |
Total* | 304 | 190 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 33 | 91 | 6,487,987 | 62 |
1 Not a full Tour member in these years
- As of 2013 season
Team appearances
Amateur
- Eisenhower Trophy (representing India): 1988, 1992
Professional
- Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing India): 1996, 1999
- Dynasty Cup (representing Rest of Asia): 2003 (winners)
- Royal Trophy (representing Asia): 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012 (winners)
- World Cup (representing India): 2008, 2009
See also
References
- ↑ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ↑ "Jeev Milkha Singh," the south-asian.com June 2002. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
- ↑ "Carry on, Jeev," The Telegraph (Calcutta, India), 4 November 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
- ↑ "Wildcats lead way as LSC honors all-time top performers," ACU Today, Summer 2007, p.32. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
- ↑ "Gaganjeet Bhullar becomes seventh golfer to receive Arjuna". The Times Of India. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ↑ Punjab Golf Association confers award on Jeev Milkha Singh, zeenews.com, 31 December 2006.
- ↑ Record 34 European Tour Members Invited to Augusta
- ↑ "Phil Mickelson finishes with 74". ESPN Golf. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
- ↑ "Jeev Milkha Singh profile". Retrieved 12 July 2013.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jeev Milkha Singh. |
- Official website
- Jeev Milkha Singh at the Asian Tour official site
- Jeev Milkha Singh at the European Tour official site
- Jeev Milkha Singh at the PGA Tour official site
- Jeev Milkha Singh at the Japan Golf Tour official site
- Jeev Milkha Singh at the Official World Golf Ranking official site