Jeev charges into top 200

India's ace golfer Jeev Milkha Singh rode on a brilliant streak of three weeks on the Japanese PGA Tour to storm into the top-200 of the world rankings, which was released on Monday for the week ending July 8, 2001.

In the latest rankings, Jeev jumped up to the 180th spot following his tied third finish in the Jyuken Sangyo Hiroshima Open. This marks a jump of 99 places from his year-ending ranking of 279 at the end of 2000.

Tiger Woods remained the world’s number one golfer for the 99th successive week despite his recent slump in form. Phil Mickelson was second, while Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Davis Love-III, David Duval and Sergio Garcia followed from number three to seventh position.

Jeev, who is sponsored by Hero Honda Motors, is the only Indian to have made it to the top-200 of the world. Earlier, he enjoyed his best position in May 1999 when he rose to 142nd position, following his brilliant show in the South African leg of the European PGA Tour where he finished second and third in consecutive weeks. He then finished runner-up in the Kirin Open on the Japanese Tour as well before gaining the career-high position.

"Perhaps this is a good indication of how hard I have worked in the past few months. The injury last season had robbed me off the entire world ranking points. The fact that I have earned them all back and am again in the top-200 is a good feeling. Things are happening for me and with the British Open and The International ahead of me, I am excited about the future," said the 29-year-old over phone from Japan.

Playing on the Japanese PGA Tour, Jeev registered three successive top-four finishes in three weeks. He was fourth in the Mizuno Open, came second in the high-profile Tournament Players Championship iiyama Cup and was joint third in last week’s Hiroshima Open. That handed him almost 37 points. The Chandigarh pro currently has an average of +1.08 points in last two years.

Another interesting fact is that Jeev is the second highest non-Japanese Asian golfer in the list behind Frankie Minoza of Philippines. Minoza, who is a regular on the Japanese PGA Tour, is in 160th position. The only other non-Japanese Asian on the list is Lin Keng-chi of Taiwan, who is currently ranked 185th. As many as 18 Japanese feature in the top-200 with Toshimitsu Izawa leading the way at 33rd place.

Jeev next plays the high-profile Loch Lomond Invitational on the European PGA Tour. If he finishes in the top-eight, he will earn a direct berth into the British Open, which starts at the Royal Lytham from July 19. Thereafter, he will participate in the Dutch Open before proceeding to the United States where he has become the first Indian to be invited for the prestigious $-4 million The International, an event on the US PGA Tour.