Singh is truly King

What a magnificient achievement by 'Jeev' Milkha Singh! Holding off World No 4 Padraig Harrington and World No 8 Ernie Els - both multiple major winners - to win the Singapore Open by 1 shot was truly unbelievable. The fact that another multiple major winner and World No 3 Phil Mickelson was also in the fray, makes his win even sweeter.

This win has catapulted him not only to the top of the Asian Order of Merit, but into the World top 50 (at No 46). Jeev had achieved that feat in 2006, which had earned him an invitation to play in the Masters. That year, he had won the Volvo Open at the difficult Valderrama course in Span and had two victories in Japan.

What followed was a disappointing 2007 without a single victory that dropped him out of the world top 50 list. It only increased the resolve of one of the most dedicated sportsmen of India. He worked even harder at his game, and the sheer determination and perseverance is now paying off in cartloads.

Jeev has won again in Japan this year and the Austrian Open in Europe. The only blemish in his otherwise excellent career has been the lack of a victory on the US tour. One reason is that he was never able to qualify for a US PGA tour card despite several attempts. May be he was trying too hard.

The occasional wild cards and special invitations to the major tournaments didn't provide Jeev with enough opportunities to learn about the different US tour courses. Familiarity with these difficult courses is an essential element in winning tournaments.

Now that Jeev is back in the world top 50, he should get more opportunities to play on the US tour where one victory will automatically earn him a PGA tour card.

Arjun Atwal, another strong Indian golfer who lost his PGA tour card and had to play in the lower level Nationwide tour this year, has earned his PGA tour card back with a victory and finishing the year in the top 15. Jeev, who is a far more consistent - if less talented - player, will surely be aiming to win a US PGA tournament. May be even a major.

Indian sportsmen shining?

Recent sporting events had a lot of India flavor.

First of all, the sound thrashing that India meted out to the Australian cricket team during the 2nd test match at Mohali. In the first innings, it was Amit Mishra's orthodox leg breaks and googlies that did them in - after a solid batting performance from Tendulkar, Ganguly (a hundred in his farewell series - what an achiever!) and Captain M S Dhoni.

In the second innings, brilliant bursts of swing bowling by Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan broke the backs of the Australians. In between, Sehwag, Gambhir and Dhoni tore their unidimensional bowling attack to shreds. A defeat by 320 runs! I do not recollect when was the last time that Australia had lost a test match so heavily.

At Bonn, West Germany, Vishwanathan Anand was drubbing Russian Grandmaster Kramnik at the World Chess Championships - winning twice by playing with the black pieces. His 4.5 to 1.5 point lead in the 12 match series looks unassailable. Kramnik seems all at sea against Anand's variations and rapid moves.

In a Nationwide Tour golf event in the USA, Arjun Atwal broke the jinx of never having won in the USA by winning in a playoff and almost assuring himself a PGA tour card that he had lost in 2007. It will be good to see him competing in the PGA Tour along side his friend Daniel Chopra (who now plays under the Swedish flag). Earlier, Jeev Milkha Singh had finished a creditable 4th at the Indian Open Golf tournament at Delhi.

All in all, some thing for every Indian sports lover to be proud of.

The 'other' Singh

For the first time in the long history of Major championships, an Indian golfer led the field after the first round of the PGA Championship. He held the lead jointly over the best of the best (minus one!).

After a second round 74 - the worst by any player in the top 20 of the leaderboard - Chiranjeev 'Milkha' Singh was still tied seventh with the likes of Sergio Garcia and Angel Cabrera (who won the US Open last year). Only two former major winners are ahead on the leaderboard - Ben Curtis and David Toms. Only 4 shots separate the top 20 players - so this PGA is wide open.

All eyes are of course on China and the Olympics opening ceremony was truly magnificient in concept and execution. But for golf enthusiasts, the last major of the year at Oakland Hills, Michigan - which was dubbed "The Monster" by the great Ben Hogan when he won the US Open at the same venue back in 1951 - will provide a lot of thrills and entertainment.

To appreciate how competitive and tough the field of professional golf is, here are some of the former Major winners that missed the cut : Rich Beem, Fred Couples, John Daly, Todd Hamilton, Zach Johnson, Bob Tway, Mark Brooks, Trevor Immelman, Davis Love III, and the 'real' Singh - Vijay.  Other former Major winners like Jim Furyk, Mike Weir, Corey Pavin and Paul Azinger barely made the cut at +8.

'Jeev' played in the Masters this year, made the cut and made some money. He missed the cut in the US Open and made zilch. He narrowly failed to qualify for the British Open. He has made the cut in the PGA and is in the top 10 of the leader board even though he is playing with a bum right ankle.

In between, he has been criss-crossing the world playing on the Asian, the Japanese and the European tours - making his own travel arrangements, adjusting to different time zones, eating unfamiliar food and making no money any time he misses the cut. In spite of such challenges, with his unorthodox swing and exquisite short game, he has already won a tournament each on the Japanese and European tours.

So say a little prayer for 'Jeev'. If he manages to win the PGA with one of his typical come-from-behind 5 under final rounds, he will get some thing like a 10 year exemption on the US PGA tour - the best and biggest pro-golf tour in the world. And his days of cross-continent travelling and living out of suitcases may come to an end.