The new leader on the Asian Tour Order of Merit – and one who will most probably win the title – Jeev Milkha Singh created some more records and went on to make the headlines when he won his third title this season, the five million dollar Barclays Singapore Open on Sunday. And he beat a world-class field ? one that boasted two-time major winner this year, Padraig Harrington and Ernie Els. Taking home the winner?s cheque of US$792,500 Jeev now leads the 2008 Asian Tour Order of Merit with a margin of US$655,000 over his nearest rival and is well placed to win his second Asian Tour Order of Merit title in three years, as he is still to play two of the remaining four events. Only second placed Mark Brown can dislodge him from the top, but he needs to win all of the next four tournaments to be able to do so. He is now the first player to cross the one million dollar mark in earnings in a single season. His sixth career Asian Tour victory took his earnings to US$ 1.4 million for this season alone!
This victory moved Jeev up to 46th in the world rankings and will hopefully be enough to seal his entry into the only major championship that was eluding him so far for next year, the 2009 US Masters. He is scheduled to play all the other three majors and I am sure his invite for the Masters will be in the post soon enough. There is no way anyone can ignore this Singh now as he goes about his business and achieves his dream of becoming a ?world golfer?.
Jeev seems to be getting better with time and he has worked hard for this success. Today he can hold his head high and walk amongst the best ? his contemporaries have great regard for him, as Ernie said after missing his birdie putt on the last that could have helped him tie Jeev for the lead, ?it could have been a win but Jeev is a great guy and I am happy for him.? He has earned the respect of his friends, family and the entire golfing fraternity. This is the same player who everyone labelled as ?finished?. Though he hasn?t forgotten those days ? which is what makes a truly good sportsman even greater ? he has put it all behind him and learned from the experience.
Jeev now plays the Hong Kong Open this week after which he will be assisted by Jyoti Randhawa when they represent the country at the World Cup in Shenzen, China. He then plays a tournament in Japan, then the Volvo Masters in Thailand and finally the BILT Open on the PGTI Tour.
His aim now is to win a major championship and I am sure if he keeps performing like he is and working as hard as he does, he will get there soon enough. With a 12th place finish on the European Tour already under his belt this year, he wants to go a few spots better as the ?Race for Dubai? gets underway. I am sure we will hear a lot more of him in the coming months.
The writer is an expert on golf
