Jeev invited for US PGA Tour event

It was a red-letter day in the career of Jeev Milkha Singh, the undisputed number one golfer of the country, when he received a special invitation to take part in 'The International', an event on the top-grade US PGA Tour.

Disclosing this over phone from Japan, Jeev said: "It is the ultimate dream of every golfer to play on the PGA Tour and I am excited about the possibilities. The International is one of the biggest events on the US Tour and I am thankful to the sponsors for considering my case for an exemption."

Jeev, who is sponsored by Hero Honda Motors, will thus become only the second Indian to feature in an US PGA Tour event in the United States. The first was Arjun Atwal, who made it through the Monday Qualifiers in the 1996 Buick Classic before finishing tied for the 43rd place in the main event.

Two other Indians -- Gaurav Ghei and Jyoti Randhawa -- have made it to the prestigious British Open, one of the four majors which is part of the PGA Tour schedule.

The invitation came after Jeev's strong showing in the Dubai Desert Classic, where he finished sixth and set an European Tour putting record, and on the Japanese PGA Tour, where he finished fourth in the recently-concluded Mizuno Open and was tied for the fourth place in the season-opening Token Corporation Cup.

"I have already kept my cards for 2002 on both Japanese and European PGA Tours. That takes a lot of pressure of me and I can now concentrate on getting into the PGA Tour. Of course, the best way would be to win The International and get a two-year exemption!! But I am now focussing towards the Q School. That’s my final aim for the season," said the 29-year-old Chandigarh-based pro.

The International will be hosted for the 14th successive year by the Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado. The total prize-money in the offing is a whopping US$-4 million with the winner’s cheque worth $-720,000.

Defending champion Ernie Els is expected to take on a world class field including world No 1 Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, David Duval, Sergio Garcia and Vijay Singh.

The tournament is one of the most unique on the Tour as it has a completely different format. Instead of strokeplay, The International has modified stableford scores. An albatross is worth +8 points, an eagle +5, a birdie +2, a par 0, a bogey gets –1 and a double bogey or worse scores get –2. Els won the championship in 2000 with 48 points, four better than the runner-up Mickelson.

The other feature of the tournament is the fact that the Castle Pines Golf Club possesses one of the most difficult and picturesque holes on the Tour. The Jack Nicklaus-designed 485-yard, par-4 10th featured in Golf Digest’s 18 Greatest Holes list. While the length makes it a difficult hole, its spectacular setting alleviates some of the pain of missing par. From an elevated tee, the fairway leads down to a small green nestled among a thick clump of pine trees.