Jeev Milkha Singh

Jeev Milkha Singh. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Name: Jeev Milkha Singh
Born: 15 December 1971, Chandigarh
State: Punjab
Sport: Golf

Early life

Jeev Milkha Singh grew up with sport running through both sides of his family: his father was the Olympic sprinter Milkha Singh, and his mother, Nirmal Kaur, had captained the Indian women’s volleyball team. He was educated at Bishop Cotton School in Shimla before moving to the United States, where he studied business and international studies at Abilene Christian University, graduating in 1996, having chosen the American collegiate route at a time when very few Indian golfers looked beyond the domestic amateur circuit. His amateur record in America was outstanding; he won the NCAA Division II individual golf championship in 1993 and picked up several other amateur titles while still a student.

Turning professional

Singh turned professional in 1993, taking his first title at the Southern Oklahoma State Open, a minor event that nonetheless marked the start of a long career. He built his game mainly on the Asian circuit through the mid-1990s, winning regularly, before earning his card for the European Tour in 1998 after finishing seventh at qualifying school, becoming the first Indian golfer to do so.

Breakthrough in 2006

Singh’s finest year came in 2006. He won the Volvo China Open, a European Tour event, becoming only the second Indian to win on that circuit after Arjun Atwal, and later added the season-ending Volvo Masters, finishing 16th on the European Tour’s Order of Merit. He capped the year with back-to-back victories in Japan, at the Casio World Open and the Golf Nippon Series JT Cup, and topped the Asian Tour’s own Order of Merit. That run of form took him into the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking, the first Indian golfer ever to get there.

Majors and the world stage

In 2007 Singh became the first Indian golfer to play in the Masters Tournament at Augusta, finishing tied 25th on his debut, a highly creditable result on a course notoriously unforgiving to first-timers. The following year he went one better at the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills, finishing tied ninth, the best result recorded by an Indian golfer at a major championship. He closed out 2008 by winning the Barclays Singapore Open and claiming a second Asian Tour Order of Merit title, while finishing 12th on the European Tour rankings. In 2009 he was in the mix again, finishing fourth at the WGC-CA Championship after leading through the first round, and he went on to add further wins in Japan and, in 2012, a play-off victory at the Scottish Open that took his European Tour title tally to four, more than any other Indian golfer.

Personal life

Singh lives in Chandigarh with his wife, Kudrat, whom he married in 2008, and their son. Away from the course, he has also mentored younger Indian golfers coming through the Asian and European Tours, keen to pass on the professionalism that took him from a fledgling Asian circuit player to India’s most successful golfer in Europe. He has often spoken of following in his father’s footsteps not by choice of sport but by the same insistence on hard work, and the family name has become closely associated with two very different Indian sporting eras a generation apart.

Achievements and awards

Winner, Volvo China Open and Volvo Masters, European Tour, 2006; first Indian golfer in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking, 2006; tied ninth, PGA Championship, 2008, the best major finish by an Indian golfer; winner, Barclays Singapore Open, 2008; two-time Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, 2006 and 2008; first Indian to play the Masters Tournament, 2007; four European Tour titles in all, the most by an Indian golfer; Arjuna Award; Padma Shri, 2007.