E-Paper
All eyes on city golfer Karandeep Kochhar at Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational at Chandigarh Golf Club
All eyes will be on defending champion Karandeep Kochhar when he takes the field during the fourth edition of the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational presented by TAKE Sports at the Chandigarh Golf Club
All eyes will be on defending champion Karandeep Kochhar when he takes the field during the fourth edition of the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational presented by TAKE Sports at the Chandigarh Golf Club greens on Thursday in the presence of top golfers like Gaganjeet Bhullar, SSP Chawrasia, Shiv Kapur, Jyoti Randhawa, Rashid Khan and not to forget 49-year-old Jeev Milkha Singh, who lost his parents Milkha Singh and Nirmal Singh to Covid in June. Putting the tragedy behind and being away from Chandigarh for two months in England, fresh looking Singh will be competing on his home course with 129 participants, including 126 professionals and three amateurs.
“I had a good time in England with my family away from Chandigarh. My aunt could not come from Liverpool when my parents passed away. So my sisters and I went to her place and spent time with her. The only reason I am playing golf is because my dad introduced me to the sport. What I am today is because of my parents,” shared Singh, who will turn 50 in December. He would be playing two Asian Tour tournaments in Thailand in November and December before going full-throttle in 2022 for the senior tour.
“Mom used to do Diwali puja and this time she was not there, so it was difficult to experience that feeling. We did it and all the memories came back, but life has to go on and I still have to win many tournaments,” said Singh, whose next season will start March-end onward with the Singapore Open and one in Morocco followed by senior tour tournaments in Japan and Europe. “I would like to play in a few tournaments before I take off for the senior tour. I hope to get some invites from the US as well,” added Singh, who would be having a travelling physiotherapist for the senior tour. He has the rare distinction of being the only Indian to have won the Asian Tour Order of Merit twice (in 2006 and 2008). He has won multiple titles on the European Tour, Japan Golf Tour and Asian Tour and has 14 Major appearances to his name. Jeev has also achieved a career-high world ranking of 28, an Indian record.
Interestingly, all three editions of the Jeev Invitational have seen play-offs and Kochhar figured in two of them. Singh himself has missed the cut all three times.
The main event will be preceded by the Pro-Am event on November 10.
This year’s Pro-Am event has been dedicated to Indian sports legend Milkha Singh, Jeev Milkha Singh’s father, who passed away earlier this year. The Pro-Am event has been named Milkha Singh Pro-Am Day, a tribute to the Legend.
The presence of defending champion and PGTI Order of Merit leader Kochhar and former champions Ajeetesh Sandhu (2019) and Chikkarangappa (2018), also adds to the strength of the field. The other big names include Udayan Mane, Khalin Joshi, Viraj Madappa, Honey Baisoya, Manu Gandas and Veer Ahlawat.
The foreign challenge will be led by Sri Lankans Anura Rohana, Mithun Perera, N Thangaraja and K Prabagaran, as well as Bangladeshis Md Zamal Hossain Mollah, Badal Hossain, Md Sayum, Md Dulal Hossain and Md Akbar Hossain.
The other prominent names from Chandigarh besides Jeev Milkha Singh, Ajeetesh Sandhu and Karandeep Kochhar, are Akshay Sharma, Aadil Bedi, Abhijit Singh Chadha, Sujjan Singh, Angad Cheema, Harendra Gupta, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, Harmeet Kahlon, Amandeep Johl, Gurbaaz Mann, Ranjit Singh and Amritinder Singh.
Ravibir Singh, president, Chandigarh Golf Club, said, “The Chandigarh Golf Club is proud to host the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational 2021 Presented by TAKE Sports from November 10 to 14. Chandigarh will host the finest golfers from across the country and this tournament will not only encourage young golfers from the region to emulate these leading professionals but will also give an opportunity to sportsmen of the city to watch some fine golf on the hallowed greens of the Chandigarh Golf Club.”
