Golf: Top Names In The Fray In Sixth Edition Of Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational Tournament

Golf: Top names in the fray in sixth edition of Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational tournament (Image Source: IANS)

Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational Golf: Top stars of the domestic golf circuit along with big names from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be in the fray in the sixth edition of the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational at the Chandigarh Golf Club from November 2–5.

The main event will be preceded by the Pro-Am event on November 1.

The tournament was jointly launched by TAKE Sports and TATA Steel PGTI in 2018 as a gesture to honour Indian golfing great Jeev Milkha Singh.

The tournament is being staged at Jeev’s home course, the Chandigarh Golf Club, for the sixth year in succession and offers a handsome prize purse of INR 1.5 crore. The field will feature 130 participants including 127 professionals and three amateurs, the PGTI informed in a release on Tuesday.

The attractive field for the tournament this year will feature event host Jeev Milkha Singh along with India’s international winners such as Rahil Gangjee, Rashid Khan, PGTI Ranking leader Om Prakash Chouhan, Khalin Joshi, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, Sujjan Singh and Himmat Singh Rai as well as other leading Indian players such as Aman Raj, Olympian Udayan Mane and last week’s winner Jairaj Singh Sandhu.

The foreign challenge will be led by Sri Lankans N. Thangaraja, Mithun Perera, Anura Rohana and K. Prabagaran, Bangladeshis Jamal Hossain, Badal Hossain and Md Akbar Hossain, American Varun Chopra, Nepal’s Sukra Bahadur Rai, Canadian Sukhraj Singh Gill and Andorra’s Kevin Esteve Rigaill.

The legendary Jeev Milkha Singh is the first Indian professional golfer to have a PGTI event named after him. Jeev conquered uncharted territory over two decades back when he became one of the first Indian golfers to taste success at the international level. Since then, he has added many more firsts and Indian records to his name.

Jeev has the rare distinction of being the only Indian to have won the Asian Tour Order of Merit twice (in 2006 & 2008). He has won multiple titles on the DP World Tour, Japan Golf Tour and Asian Tour and has 14 Major appearances to his credit. Jeev has also achieved a career-high world ranking of 28, an Indian record.

Jeev is now a regular on the Senior Tours in Europe and Japan. He registered the best finish by an Indian at a Senior Major earlier this year when he finished tied for 14th at the Senior Open.

Tournament host Jeev Milkha Singh said, “It’s one of the most eagerly awaited weeks of the year for me as hosting an event named after myself is always special. The Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational presented by TAKE Sports, the first tournament on the PGTI to be named after a player, has gone from strength to strength over the years and I expect the sixth edition of the event to be another memorable experience for the players and golf fans alike.

"The tournament has all the makings of a classic contest with a top-class field vying for the coveted trophy at my home course, the Chandigarh Golf Club, which has provided immaculate playing conditions and has a history of producing nail-biting finishes,” he added.

Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, said, “The Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational presented by TAKE Sports, in its sixth year now, has been a fitting tribute to Indian golf legend Jeev Milkha Singh for his path-breaking achievements. The event continues to be a big draw for India's top professionals and golf fans alike.

"A week of high-voltage golfing action awaits us as a strong field is set to stake claim to the prestigious trophy and big prize purse at the challenging Chandigarh Golf Club layout. We thank Chandigarh Golf Club for their support in staging the event,” he said.

The Chandigarh Golf Club has been a nursery for Indian professional golf having produced many leading Indian professionals such as Jeev Milkha Singh, Harmeet Kahlon, Uttam Singh Mundy, Amandeep Johl, Amritinder Singh, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Sujjan Singh and Gurbaaz Mann, to name a few.