Jeev Milkha Singh to lead strong field in PGTI event
NOIDA: Two-time Asian Tour’s order of merit winner Jeev Milkha Singh will lead a strong field when the inaugural ~50lakh QA Infotech Open gets under way at the Noida Golf Course on Thursday. Jeev was scheduled to tee-off at the Asian Tour’s Shinhan Donghae Open in Korea this week but chose to lend support to the latest event to join the Professional Golf Tour of India’s (PGTI) fast-growing schedule.
Among the first to venture out of the country to further his pro career, Jeev’s path-breaking ways were recognised when Take Open, scheduled from November 1-4 on his home course Chandigarh Golf Club, was renamed the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational by its sponsor, Take Solutions.
Jeev, playing in a full-field PGTI after a year, will be joined by Chiragh Kumar, Himmat Singh Rai, Digvijay Singh and Mukesh Kumar, all winners on the Asian Tour.
The depth of the field can be gauged from the fact that eight players of the top 10 from the PGTI’S current order of merit will be in action this week.
Though unwell, Honey Baisoya will fancy his chances as three of his six victories on the domestic circuit have come here, the latest being the Delhi-ncr Open in April. The week before, he had won the Pune Open.
Honey could well have notched up the season’s third win at the Jaipur Open last week but was pipped by Aman Raj for his breakthrough win. The in-form Patna golfer can be expected to contend as will Udayan Mane and Shamim Khan. Mane, a six-time winner on the PGTI, picked up his first win of the season at the Golconda Masters in February.
Shamim, who is searching for his first win this season after winning the order of merit in 2017, will be keen to set the record right. A meltdown on the final day of the Delhi-ncr Open saw him finish behind Honey, and given the 40-year-old’s grittiness, Shamim remains one of the men to watch out for.