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. He is also the recipient of 1999 Arjuna Award.
Early life Singh was born on 15 December 1971 to Indian Olympic athlete Milkha Singh and Nirmal Saini, former captain of the Indian women's volleyball team."Jeev Milkha Singh," the south-asian.com June 2002. Retrieved 15 March 2009. Singh attended Bishop Cotton School in Shimla and later went to Abilene Christian University in the United States, obtaining a degree in business and international studies"Carry on, Jeev," The Telegraph (Calcutta, India), 4 November 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2008. in 1996."Wildcats lead way as LSC honors all-time top performers," ACU Today, Summer 2007, p.32. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
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.
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. Punjab Golf Association confers award on Jeev Milkha Singh , zeenews.com, 31 December 2006. In 2007 he became the first Indian golfer to participate in the Masters Tournament. 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. 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.
Awards and honors
In 1999, Singh is also the recipient of Arjuna Award In 2007, the Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of Padma Shri
Amateur wins 1993 NCAA Division II Individual Championship
Professional wins (21) European Tour wins (4) Legend Tour Championships (1) Other European Tour (3) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up116 Apr 2006Volvo China Open172-69-67-70=278−101 stroke Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño229 Oct 2006Volvo Masters71-71-68-72=282−21 stroke Luke Donald, Sergio García, Pádraig Harrington38 Jun 2008Bank Austria GolfOpen64-63-71=198−151 stroke Simon Wakefield415 Jul 2012Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open66-70-68-67=271−17Playoff Francesco Molinari 1Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour
European Tour playoff record (1–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12008Ballantine's Championship Graeme McDowellLost to birdie on third extra hole22012Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open Francesco MolinariWon with birdie on first extra hole
Japan Golf Tour wins (4) Legend Japan majors (2) Other Japan Golf Tour (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up126 Nov 2006Casio World Open66-69-69-68=272−162 strokes David Smail23 Dec 2006Golf Nippon Series JT Cup67-65-67-70=269−111 stroke Nobuhiro Masuda327 Jul 2008Nagashima Shigeo Invitational Sega Sammy Cup67-74-68-66=275−132 strokes Sushi Ishigaki47 Dec 2008Golf Nippon Series JT Cup (2)64-70-68-66=268−122 strokes Brendan Jones, David Smail, Taichi Teshima
Japan Golf Tour playoff record (0–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult11999Kirin Open K. J. ChoiLost to par on first extra hole
Asian Tour wins (6) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up117 Dec 1995Philippine Classic65-73-72-73=283−51 stroke Preecha Senaprom221 Jan 1996(1995 season)Asian Matchplay Championship3 and 1 Boonchu Ruangkit31 Sep 1996Philip Morris Asian Cup66-66-65-65=262−266 strokes Kang Wook-soon417 Oct 1999Lexus International69-69-65-72=275−13Playoff Taimur Hussain, Zaw Moe516 Apr 2006Volvo China Open172-69-67-70=278−101 stroke Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño616 Nov 2008Barclays Singapore Open73-68-67-69=277−71 stroke Ernie Els, Pádraig Harrington 1Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
Asian Tour playoff record (1–3) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11997Ericsson Asia-Pacific Masters Darren ColeLost to par on first extra hole21998Thailand Open James Kingston Lost to par on first extra hole31999Lexus International Taimur Hussain, Zaw MoeWon with birdie on third extra holeHussain eliminated by par on first hole42008Ballantine's Championship Graeme McDowellLost to birdie on third extra hole
Korean Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner-up111 Sep 1994Shinhan Donghae Open73-71-66-73=283−54 strokes Tom Pernice Jr.
Korean Tour playoff record (0–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12008Ballantine's Championship Graeme McDowellLost to birdie on third extra hole
Indian Golf Premier League wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner-up125 Dec 2025IGPL Invitational64-69-65=198−151 stroke Aryan Roopa Anand
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
Tournament 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016Masters TournamentT37T25CUTU.S. OpenT62T59T36CUTCUTThe Open ChampionshipCUTT69PGA ChampionshipCUTT9T67CUT
CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 2U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 3The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 2Totals 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 The Players Championship Tournament2009The Players ChampionshipT64 "T" indicates a tie for a place
Results in World Golf Championships Tournament200720082009201020112012Match PlayR64R64R16ChampionshipT28T264InvitationalT51T64T67ChampionsT33T23T46
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 Year Starts Cuts Made Wins 2nd 3rd Top 10 Top 25 Earnings (€) Money list rank1994 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a11995 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4,200 n/a11996 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 6,944 n/a11997 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 8,689 n/a11998 22 11 0 0 0 1 5 83,823 1041999 24 15 0 1 1 2 8 222,783 502000 13 5 0 0 0 2 3 68,199 1452001 17 10 0 0 0 2 4 174,011 1082002 20 8 0 0 0 1 2 83,347 1522003 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1,773 n/a12004 5 3 0 0 0 1 1 28,817 n/a12005 7 5 0 0 0 1 2 42,845 n/a12006 17 11 2 0 0 4 8 1,173,177 162007 31 26 0 0 1 1 9 717,790 462008 26 20 1 2 0 8 15 1,218,209 122009 22 17 0 0 0 3 8 847,844 342010 15 10 0 0 0 2 7 393,449 742011 30 17 0 0 0 2 8 329,262 942012 25 19 1 0 0 2 6 926,062 322013 23 6 0 0 0 1 5 156,643 133Total* 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 Asia): 2003 (winners) Royal Trophy (representing Asia): 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012 (winners) World Cup (representing India): 2008, 2009 EurAsia Cup (representing Asia): 2016 (non-playing captain)
See also List of golfers with most Asian Tour wins
Notes
References
External links