Edited by Anand Datla
Manila, November 19: Indian star Jeev Milkha Singh hopes a return to the scene of his first two Asian Tour victories will stem his slide in form which has seen him fall outside the world’s top-1,000. From being a top-50 player in the world, the two-time Asian Tour number one has fallen on hard times over the past two seasons but the 42-year-old believes he can haul himself back into the winner’s enclosure as he prepares to make his debut at the US$1 million Resorts World Manila Masters presented by 918.com starting on Thursday.
“It’s been about 20 years since I came back here (to the Philippines). I was only about 22 or 23 years old when I last played here. I’m glad to be back after so many years and it’s good to have the positive vibes and good memories from the last time I was here. I hope to build on those and play my best this week,” said Singh, who won the 1995 Philippine Classic and Asian Matchplay Championship.
Singh’s recent struggle is difficult to imagine as it was only two years ago that he won the prestigious Scottish Open for his third victory on European soil. He was also ranked as high as 35th in the world back in 2008, the year he became the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit champion for a second time with a record haul of US$1.45 million in winnings. (Read more in Golf)
But Singh, who is the son of a famous Olympic runner, believes he can regain his best form again as he did on two other occasions during his illustrious career which has suffered several peaks and troughs.
And with young compatriots Anirban Lahiri and Rashid Khan, both in their 20s, having won twice already this season on the Asian Tour, Singh said their success has only motivated him to work harder.
“The standard of golf has really improved in Asia. The young kids are hungry for success and they want to prove themselves. They are fearless and it’s just great to watch. Seeing young kids like Rashid winning on Tour motivates me. They push me to play well and I would like to do well to compete with them,” said Singh.
“My game’s feeling good. The only thing I need to work on is my driving. If it’s in place, I think I will have a good week.”
Singh marveled at the prime condition of the Masters course at Manila Southwoods. “The golf course is in a fantastic condition. I couldn’t remember the holes at all, except for the 18th hole, having not played here for such a long time. It’s amazing. The wind is going to be a strong factor on this course. If it picks up, it is going to be a great test of golf out there,” he said.
“It’s just fantastic to see that Asian golf is growing. I would like to thank the sponsors for putting together such a huge sum of money for us to play for. We need sponsors like that to come forward and help the game grow in this region. When I used to play in my early 20s, prize money was only about US$200,000 to US$250,000. A US$400,000 tournament used to be a big tournament back then. It’s just fantastic to see a US$1 million tournament now.”
