Jeev Milkha Singh was born on 15^th December 1971 in Chandigarh. He had a tough time at the crossroads of youth when he had to match up to the caliber of his parents. On one side, he had his legendary father, the Flying Sikh, Milkha Singh and on the other side, he had his mother, Nirmal Kaur, who too was a celebrated captain of the Indian volleyball team. Jeev wanted to earn the same kind of respect in the sporting world as his celebrity parents commanded.

Jeev Milkha Singh started playing golf in his home town of Chandigarh when he was nine years old. He developed a passion for the game when he used to accompany his father to the golf link and move his trolley around. He learnt many shots in the bargain and decided that he wanted to take up golf as his profession. He went to the Abilene Christian University in the United States of America where he selected two majors. One was international business studies and the other was golf.

Jeev Milkha Singh turned professional in 1993. He played on the Asian Tours in the beginning until he was selected for the European Tour and he was the first Indian to participate in a European Tour. He has worked hard on his practice and has almost reached the standards that he had set for himself at the beginning of his career. His dream is becoming a reality.

Jeev Milkha Singh won the Southern Oklahoma State Open in 1993. On the Asian Tour, he won the Philippine Classic in Manila in 1995, the Philip Morris Asia Cup in 1996 and the Lexus International in 1999. On the European Tour, he won the Volvo Masters and the Volvo China Open in 2006 and the Austrian Open in Vienna in 2008. He has also won the Casio World Open in 2006 on the Japan Golf Tour and the Toyota Crown Open in Thailand in 1995. He has represented Asia in the Royal Trophy in 2007. In 2006, he broke into the World Top Fifty by being ranked 48^th. He finished the 2008 European Tour season ranked twelfth on the Order of Merit and also won the Barclays Singapore Open. In 2009, he finished the WGC-CA Championship in the fourth place. He recently took part in the Irish Open last week and finished thirteenth in the tournament.

There are many firsts for Jeev Milkha Singh. He is the first Indian golfer to become a member of the European Tour. He is the highest ranked Indian golfer in the world. His current world ranking is 80^th. As India’s best golfer, he is going from strength to strength. His career has seen a sharp rise in the last three years. He is also the first Indian golfer to play in the U.S. masters. He has played alongside Tiger Woods. He was named Sportsman of the Year in 2006 which pleasantly surprised him as he always believed that such an award would be given only to a cricketer or a hockey player.

Jeev Milkha Singh was awarded the Padma Shri in 2007. Many people asked him as to why he picked golf as a professional sport. He replied, stating that he wanted to play a game till the age of seventy and he felt that no sport but golf allowed anyone such a luxury as athletes or cricketers would have to hang up their boots long before their mid forties.

Article Posted By : tahnak  On August 05, 2011lView All Articles

Tahseen Nakavi Juror

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http://www.veethi.com/articles/jeev-milkha-singh---the-first-golfer-to-bring-india-on-the-international-circuit-map-article-190.htm

Keywords :
Jeev Milkha Singh , Sports , Golf