The Hindu : Sport : Jeev Milkha Singh looks to raise the bar for himself

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Wednesday, Nov 08, 2006
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Jeev Milkha Singh looks to raise the bar for himself

CLUBBED WITH THE TIGER: Jeev Milkha Singh has been paired with Tiger Woods for the HSBC Champions tournament.

New Delhi: Riding high on his success in the Asian and European Tour events, Jeev Milkha Singh has set his eyes on becoming the first-ever Indian to play in the Masters by breaking into top-50 in world golf rankings.

Jeev's sensational win in the Volvo Masters of Europe would fetch him a look-in at the Majors but it is the Masters which the ace golfer is eyeing at, not through some invite but on the basis of his rankings, as a top-50 rank will earn him automatic qualification.

Since no Indian has played the Masters, Jeev, the first Indian to play and make the cut at U.S. Open, wants to set that right. ``My first and foremost goal is to get into the top-50 of the world rankings. That will get me into the Majors. Then I want to contend at the bigger events like WGC and Masters,'' he said in an interview.

Exciting prospect

``The Masters is an exciting prospect. I do hope to get into the Masters. In the past, they have invited Asians to play like Zhang Lian-wei (China) and Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand). If I win the Order of Merit, I hope it will also get me an invite. But If I can do it through the world rankings, that's the best,'' he said.

It has been a sensational year for Jeev. Ten top-10 finishes in 15 starts in Japan, a title each in Asia and Europe and he is also the leader on UBS Asian Tour Order of Merit. He finished 16th on European Money List and is currently 12th in Japan. ``Yes, it has indeed been a great year. I suppose it is all a question of confidence. I am able to go through the process and routine in every shot and at crucial stages and that is bringing me the results,'' Jeev said.

But success has not come on a platter for Jeev who has had to struggle with a seven-year winless streak.

Jeev, however, did not let the disappointment linger for long and started every event with fresh hope.

As for his immediate plans, ``I will carry the confidence for the next two weeks in HSBC Champions (where he has been paired with Tiger Woods)and UBS Hong Kong Open.''

And what about the party to celebrate this great year?

``That will have to wait till December when I get back home to Chandigarh and believe me it will be a big bash!'' — PTI

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