"I want to be a global player"

Here's another milestone for Jeev Milkha Singh: He's now the first Indian to win three European tour events, two of them in Europe. Singh's win at the Bank Austria Golfopen is also his first title as a married man. Three Indians, Arjun Atwal, S.S.P. Chowrasia, and now Singh, have won European tour events this year already. Singh talks about all that and more from his London flat.

Interviewed by Prabhdev Singh

BOWLED OVER: Jeev with wife Kudrat after his win.

Compared to your other wins, how do you rate this one?
This is a good win but my best so far would be the Volvo Masters in 2006 because of the depth of the field there and the re-spect that tournament has. It is a 'major' on the European Tour. Of course, any win is great and winning the Austrian Open with just one bogey in 54 holes is special to me. Honestly, I feel fortunate to have won with an even-par round on the last day. Normally, in this day
and age, if you shoot even par in the final round you don't win.

What worked for you in Austria?
I have been playing very well. I've been knocking on the door and it's just that I stayed in the present; I told myself that I should follow my process and routine and even if I lose another one it doesn't matter, at least I tried. I just went in with that attitude. Last day, I hit some good putts, they didn't go in but I never gave up. I just kept trying and looked at the leaderboard only on the last hole. It all worked out good for me.

Would you say that your biggest asset is your mental strength? You don't let setbacks get you down.
Yeah, I think I'm pretty strong in the head. There are times when you are low but I rebound fast. Of course, with age and ex-perience you learn to do that. You do lose your head once in a while. After all, you are human. But after that, you get it out of your system and move on. You can't afford to stay down and be negative. You just refresh and start a new week. What hap-pened in the past is over. You can't do anything about that.

You almost didn't play Austria.
I had entered but I was waiting for the U.S. Open qualifying results and I didn't make it. I said to myself that I am playing well so I might as well go to Austria. So I went there Tuesday night. And the last two weeks I have played without a practice round. I teed it up blind as the pro-ams got cancelled because of rain. I finished tied 10th in Wales and didn't play a practice round there too.

Who is more relieved with this win, Kudrat or you?
I think it's Kudrat (laughs).

Two second place finishes at the start of the season and a top 10 in Wales. Did you feel something better was coming along?
I've been up there on the leaderboard every week after the first round. I played well in Shanghai (BMW Asian Open)-I had a good start but gave it away. I played well at the Crowns in Japan where I finished sixth. I had a great start at the Irish Open where I was leading. Wales was good though I would have been happier with a top five. I just had a good feeling about my game. And I'm still playing well.

15-under after two rounds-a combination of good hitting and putting?
I hit the ball really, really well. Had I putted as good, I could have gone much lower. The second day, when I shot eight-under, was very satisfying golf and I capped it with about a 35-40 footer for eagle on my last hole.

What thoughts did you take into the final round?
I just thought fairways and greens. I did that pretty well, hitting 15 greens in regulation, but it was one of those days when the putts didn't drop. I said to myself, 'I'm not going to make a bogey'. That was my thinking, and that's what I did.

18 pars in the final round. That's quite something.
It sure wasn't planned that way! My plan was to carry on the good work and shoot a good number again but that didn't happen. Like I said, I'm very fortunate to win with an even-par on the last day. I might have done this once before in a college champi-onship in the U.S. but never as a professional.

Any pressure going into the final round with a four-shot lead? You were expected to win.
There is pressure in a situation like that. The guys behind you get aggressive trying to catch up and you are trying to keep your lead. It's a tricky situation. You can't be too aggressive or too soft. You have to take a middle line and manage yourself well.

Do you still use 'reverse psychology'?
I do. What is the worst that can happen? Not winning. I think I gave away Indonesia but Korea I handled well and lost to a bet-ter shot. In Austria I played great golf first two days. So all you can do is give it your best and hopefully that is good enough.

Did you feel any nerves playing the last hole?
I was playing with Simon (Wakefield) so I knew he was pretty close. I hadn't looked at the leaderboard. I pulled my drive and it was sitting down in the rough. I took it out and then hit a nine-iron on the green. Simon two-putted from about 80 feet for birdie and went to 14-under. I needed to two-putt from 40 feet and left my first putt about four feet short with the putt breaking left to right. And I said to myself, 'Don't hit it too hard. Don't hit it through the break'. When I hit the putt I ended up hitting it a little soft but it caught the right lip and went in. That was a relief. I didn't want another play off!

What was the golf course like?
Excellent golf course with the rough up; and the greens were fantastic despite all the rain. I think they were amongst the best greens on the Tour. They rolled really well. They were like the greens we play in Japan. Great layout too.

Your thoughts on the tournament being cut down to 54 holes.
We got to know about the event being cut short after the first round itself on Friday. At one point of time I thought it was going to be just 36 holes because the last day was not looking good either. We just finished at the right time. There was already lightening in the area. I just tried to be aggressive and go as low as possible in the first two rounds.

Janet Squire, your caddie from the Masters, was with you again.
My regular guy Max took the week off because I wasn't planning on playing Austria. Janet was around so she came on and we won! She was pretty excited. Max will be back on the bag from Munich.

Shiv Kapur on Jeev The most extraordinary thing about Jeev, something that separates him from the pack, is his positive attitude and outlook towards the game. Most players would get easily deflated after losing out not once but twice in such a short span of time. But Jeev manages to take positives out of any situation and that's a great asset. Golf is such a mental game and when the tide is against you, to keep your chin up and fight through it can sometimes be very hard and Jeev has managed to master that. He also has the best 'bounce back' statistics amongst the players… he invariably manages to post a high finish after missing the cut the previous week, which goes to show that he never gets down on himself and believes in his ability. He is a fighter to the core and we all will do well to take a leaf out of his book.

Between Jyoti Randhawa, Shiv Kapur, S.S.P. Chowrasia and you, there's now a nice Indian foursome on the European Tour. Did you imagine such a
scenario when you started out there?
I think so. Jyoti had the talent and I knew a couple more guys would make it. Honestly, I think there will be a lot more guys coming through in the future. When I came on, Daniel (Chopra) was there so it was good fun to have him around.

Do the four of you manage to meet up?
We do meet up for sure on the golf course. It's great to see S.S.P. on the Tour. He's a gentleman and a really nice guy. Obvi-ously, Shiv is a young golfer with a lot of talent and Jyoti is a solid player. I'm sure he's going to win again soon.

Now with a European Tour event in India, golfers in that part of the world must be getting familiar with Indian golf and golfers?
For sure. Forget Europe, now they even know us in the U.S.; they know Indian players are very strong because they have played with some of us. Most of the guys in the U.S. will know who the main Indian players are.

Where do you see Indian golf heading from here?
I think there is a lot of talent in our country. Especially when the youngsters see us win, they feel they can do even better. That is the attitude they should have, in fact. Daniel has won in the U.S., I have won in Europe and Arjun (Atwal) has won in Asia, so that is quite something.

Are you into the British Open?
Not yet but it's looking pretty good. I need to play well another few weeks. If I do that, it should come my way. If it doesn't, I'll go to qualifying in Sunningdale after the French Open.

Your goals for the rest of the season?
I would like to break into the top 50 again and play well in the majors.

How difficult was it to follow up 2006?
The expectations were high for sure after 2006. I tried pretty hard last year and I was playing well too. It all boils down to put-ting. If you start holing putts, you win.

Do you think you could have done anything differently in 2007?
Putting again. I hit the ball pretty much the same, rock solid. Had I holed a few more putts, things could have been different.

How do you keep yourself going week after week? What's the motivation now?
I'm making a living out of what I love doing and that's the only reason why I can push myself. If I wasn't enjoying playing, it would get to me after a while, I guess. But I'm going to cut back on my schedule. I usually play 40 events a year. This year it'll be down to 35 or 36 events. If I keep myself physically fit with my exercise routine and yoga, I think I can last many more years. If guys like Vijay Singh can do it, why not us?

S.S.P. Chowrasia on Jeev Jeev is one of the most focused players I have seen. He might talk about different things, but when it comes to a tournament, he shuts out everything. Also, I have noticed he prepares very well and does not let disappointment affect him for long. If it happens, it happens, otherwise he moves on and focuses on the next week. Playing with him and watching his attitude, I have learnt a lot. He is a great friend too.

Now that you have played all the majors, would they be your priority? Does your schedule revolve around them?
Absolutely. Now I want to prove myself in the majors and I plan my schedule accordingly.

Any plans for the PGA Tour?
I'm going to try and get back into the top 50. That gives me 12 starts on the PGA Tour. If I'm good enough to get my card from those starts, well and good, otherwise I'm happy doing what I'm doing. I want to be a global player. I can always get to the final stage of the Q-School but I don't want to go that way.

You seem to be attracting sponsors from the Middle East. After 'Golf in Dubai' and Jumeirah Golf Estates, you now have Qatar-based construction company Panceltica on your bag. How did that come about?
My management company, ISM, seem to be doing a good job. Chubby Chandler and David Brookes have got me some good sponsors. I've got Jumeirah on my cap and the t-shirt, 'Golf in Dubai' on the collar and Panceltica on the bag.

A change in equipment?
I changed them in Wales. I've got Callaway irons in there now. The grooves on the GMA clubs were gone. I was at the range on Tuesday and these guys said they have come out with a new shaft so I said, 'Let me try them'. They felt pretty good so I was planning to test them in the pro-am which got rained out. I just told my caddy, 'Put them in the bag. We'll give it a go'. So they are in the bag now. Driver to pitching wedge is Callaway, Ping wedges and Scotty Cameron putter.

You have bought a flat in London. Is that going to be a base for you?
Yes, from May to October. Kudrat is busy setting up the flat right now. It is in Sunninghill, not very far from Wentworth Golf Club. It's about a 10-minute drive. I can practice there when I need to.