Jeev Milkha Singh (born 15 December 1971) is an Indian professional golfer who became the first player from India to join the European Tour in 1998. He has won four events on the European Tour, becoming the most successful Indian on tour. He was the first Indian golfer to break into the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking in October 2006. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

awarded him the civilian honour of Padma Shri in 2007. He is also the recipient of 1999 Arjuna Award.

Early life

Singh was born on 15 December 1971 to Indian Olympic athlete Milkha Singh and Nirmal Saini, former captain of the Indian women's volleyball team."Jeev Milkha Singh,"
''the south-asian.com'' June 2002. Retrieved 15 March 2009. Singh attended Bishop Cotton School in Shimla and later went to Abilene Christian University in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, obtaining a degree in business and international studies"Carry on, Jeev,"
''The Telegraph'' (Calcutta, India), 4 November 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2008. in 1996."Wildcats lead way as LSC honors all-time top performers,"
''ACU Today'', Summer 2007, p.32. Retrieved 22 September 2008. Singh won the NCAA Division II individual golf championship in 1993 in addition to a number of amateur tournaments in the U.S.

Professional career

Singh turned professional in 1993 and his first professional win was at the 1993 Southern Oklahoma State Open, a minor local event. He played mainly in Asia, where he was a regular winner in the mid-1990s. In 1997 he finished seventh at the European Tour qualifying school, and joined the tour the following year. He became the third golfer to receive Arjuna Award in 1999. His best season in Europe until 2006 was in 1999, when he came 50th on the Order of Merit. He struggled with injury in the early years of the new millennium. In April 2006 he won the Volvo China Open, becoming the second Indian player to win on the European Tour after Arjun Atwal. He also won the season ending Volvo Masters, which elevated him to a final position of 16th on the Order of Merit. He finished 2006 as the winner of the

Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf professional golf tours, tour in Asia except for Japan (which has its own Japan Golf Tour). It is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on ...

Order of Merit and capped his season with a pair of back to back wins in Japan to become the first Indian to make the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking. In 2007 he became the first Indian golfer to participate in the Masters Tournament. In August 2008, Singh achieved the highest ranking for an Indian in any major event at the 2008 PGA Championship in Oakland Hills, finishing at T9, making him arguably India's best golfer ever. Singh finished the 2008 European Tour season ranked 12th on the Order of Merit, and after winning the Barclays Singapore Open won his second Order of Merit title on the Asian Tour. In 2009, Singh finished the WGC-CA Championship in fourth place, after leading round one. Singh played on the Nationwide Tour in 2003. He played on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

from 2007 to 2010, where his best finish was 4th place at the 2009 WGC-CA Championship. Singh received India's fourth highest civil honour, the Padma Shri, in 2007. On 15 July 2012, Singh beat Francesco Molinari in a sudden-death playoff to win the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, the week before the 2012 Open Championship. The win secured Singh a spot in the 2012 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club as a result of finishing as the highest non-qualifier at the event. The win was also Singh's fourth career victory on the European Tour and moved him ahead of Arjun Atwal, making him the most successful Indian golfer in European Tour history.

Personal life

Singh lives in Chandigarh with wife Kudrat and their son.

Amateur wins

*1993 NCAA Division II Individual Championship

Professional wins (20)

European Tour wins (4)

''*Note: The 2008 Bank Austria GolfOpen was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.''
¹Co-sanctioned by the

European Tour playoff record (1–1)

Japan Golf Tour wins (4)

Japan Golf Tour playoff record (0–1)

Asian Tour wins (6)

¹Co-sanctioned by the European Tour Asian Tour playoff record (1–3)

Korean Tour wins (1)

Korean Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other wins (6)

*1993 (2) Southern Oklahoma State Open, Bukit Kiara Golf Championship (Malaysia) *1994 (1) Northern Indian Open *1995 (3) Thailand PGA Championship, Mahindra BPGC Open (India), Toyota Crown Open (Thailand)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (2002 U.S. Open – 2007 U.S. Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Results in The Players Championship

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

European Tour professional career summary

¹ Not a full Tour member in these years *As of 2013 season

Team appearances

Amateur *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...

(representing India): 1988,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

Professional * Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing India): 1996,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

* Dynasty Cup (representing Asia): 2003 (winners) * Royal Trophy (representing Asia):

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

(winners) * World Cup (representing India):

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

* EurAsia Cup (representing Asia):

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

(non-playing captain)

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Jeev Milkha Indian male golfers Asian Tour golfers European Tour golfers PGA Tour golfers Japan Golf Tour golfers Punjabi Sikhs Abilene Christian University alumni Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Recipients of the Arjuna Award Sportspeople from Chandigarh Bishop Cotton School Shimla alumni 1971 births Living people