Singh gives back by hosting tournament

Jeev Milkha Singh will become the first player in the history of Indian golf to play host the tournament Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational.

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JeevMilkha Singh

Oct 31, 2018: In his 25 years of playing professional golf since joining the play-for-pay ranks in 1993, India’s Jeev Milkha Singh has achieved everything that he has wanted to in golf.

Described as one of India’s greatest ambassadors of golf, Singh’s career was defined by two Asian Tour Order of Merit crowns, 14 Major championship appearances and 20 professional wins. But perhaps the greatest sense of recognition for a golfer with that many titles to his name, would be to have a tournament named after him.

In his efforts to grow the game in India as well as honor his roots, Singh embraced the opportunity given by Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) to host the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational by TAKE Solutions at the Chandigarh Golf Club which will get underway on Thursday.

“This will be the first time in India that this is happening in my hometown and staged at my home course. I owe a lot to both these places and I want to get players from all over India coming to compete in what I believe is one of the best cities in the world,” said Singh.

Following in the footsteps of golfing legends he looked up to, including Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, who have hosted the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour respectively, the 46-year-old Singh will become the first player in the history of Indian golf to play host this week.

“I have played in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial Tournament and have always thought it was the greatest recognition for players to have events named after them. I never thought I would have the same honor one day and I am truly humbled,” said Singh.

Only few Asian Tour greats have assumed responsibility of tournament host, including Korea’s KJ Choi with the CJ Invitational, Thailand’s Boonchu Ruangkit with the Boonchu Ruangkit Championship and countrymen Thongchai Jaidee with the Thongchai Jaidee Foundation.

Most recently, reigning Asian Tour number one Gavin Green of Malaysia, also received the honor of hosting the Gavin Green Junior Amateur 2018, that gets underway in December.

As tournament host, Singh will not only be competing in the event, but will also be tasked with planning player functions, pro-am groupings, and making sure players are well taken care of.

“It’s going to be a hard week. I have a couple of good functions and a few dinners lined up for the boys. It is my first year as host and I just want to make all the players feel comfortable and welcomed at the event, but of course the first objective would always be to win the tournament, even if it means I am being an ungrateful host,” added Singh, who is also an Arjuna Award winner.

With the staging of this event, Singh hopes to boost the growth of golf in India and pave the way for aspiring Indian talents.

“I have played over 25 years of golf and the most important thing for professional athletes is to stay focused, work hard and be disciplined. That what I can say for the younger golfers coming up. There’s going to be a lot of highs and lows but you just have to believe in yourself. That keeps you going for a longer period of time,” said the six-time Asian Tour winner.

 

Asian Tour Release

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