Jeev Milkha Singh in Open de Espana

Edited by Anand Datla

May 12, 2015: Jeev Milkha Singh will be the lone Indian this week at the Open de España in Terrassa, just outside Barcelona. The Real Club de Golf El Prat will host this European Tour event, the first on European soil for this season. Milkha Singh will be participating this event on a category 3 invite – for his exploits at the Scottish Open in 2012. Miguel Angel Jimenez is the defending champion at this event and home fans will hope for some more heroics from the enigmatic golfer.

Milkha Singh has been facing an uphill battle in recent weeks, struggling in his quest to regain some of his past form. Singh aspires to do well at the Olympics next year and will hope that this week can help his cause.

But he has only made one cut this season, finishing T24 at the Indian Open in February. After traveling to Africa in March for the Africa Open and Tshwane Open, where he missed the cut, Singh has been trying to iron the chinks in his game to prepare for the battle that confronts him.

Singh will tee off in the company of Hennie Otto and Seve Benson at 1250pm from the 10th hole. We will track his progress through the week, here on Golfing Indian.

Jiménez will launch the defence of his Open de España title in the company of Victor Dubuisson and Tommy Fleetwood as he bids to extend his record as the oldest winner in European Tour history.

Jiménez became the first player over the age of 50 to win on The European Tour when he held off the spirited challenges of Thomas Pieters and Richard Green at PGA Catalunya Resort 12 months ago, and with the tournament returning to Real Club de Golf El Prat for the first time since 2011 Jiménez is looking to retain the trophy, a feat no player has achieved since Max Faulkner in 1952-3.

Jiménez, a winner in Hawaii on the Champions Tour earlier this year, will be playing the tournament for the 28th time this week when he hits his first shot of the tenth tee at 08.20am on Thursday.

Playing partner Dubuisson received a late invite to play and the third member of the group, Fleetwood, will be full of confidence after his impressive display in the WGC – Cadillac Match Play Championship where he reached the quarter finals.

Sergio Garcia is another player returning to Europe with plenty of form after the World Number Seven narrowly lost out in a play-off for the Players Championship at Sawgrass on Sunday. An overnight flight back across the Atlantic and he is back on home soil on one of his favourite courses.

He has a late start on Thursday with a 13.20 tee time alongside Thomas Aiken, winner the last time the tournament was played at Real Club de Golf El Prat in 2011, and 2012 champion Francesco Molinari.

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Source: European Tour