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Singh: star name in India

Now parents from different fields tell their kids that golf can be taken up as a profession and they want them to go ahead with it.

Jeev Milkha Singh
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As the golf world turns its attention to the nation of India, Golf Night spoke to the man who pioneered the sport in the country.

Jeev Milkha Singh won four tournaments in 2006 including the Volvo China Open and the Volvo Masters. He then broke into the world top 50 and became the first Indian to play at Augusta in 2007.

Following his success, the sport is now booming in India with the rise of players such as Jyoti Randhawa and Shiv Kapur and the growth of tournaments like the Indian Masters and the Johnnie Walker Classic.

Ahead of this weekend's Indian Masters, Singh spoke to Golf Night about the changes in attitudes he has witnessed towards Indian golf in recent times.

He said: "Golf is the fastest growing sport in the country today. We obviously can't compare it to cricket, but the way things are going and the way the players are playing worldwide, golf is getting more recognition.

"We just need more sponsors to come out and help the players plus have bigger events. But the Indian Tour is growing at a very big scale and I hope to see it at a bigger scale in the coming years.

Crowds

"We'll get huge crowds at the tournaments and it's fantastic to see parents bring their young children out to watch now.

"When I turned pro it was just basically my plunge. My parents have a sporting background and supported me in it.

"But now parents from different fields tell their kids that golf can be taken up as a profession and they want them to go ahead with it.

"And that's the main thing we see now in the summer camps in India. You see hundreds of kids trying their hands at the sport and it's good to see that."

Singh explained how his father's sporting background inspired him to take up golf - almost by accident.

He continued: "I basically lived close to a golf course and my father started playing so I went with him. When I went there, there were other kids playing and I got involved for fun, basically.

"I never thought I would become a professional until I got to the States and won the NCAA's Division Two in 1993 and I took the plunge.

Disciplined

"My father helped me quite a bit. When I was growing up he always told me to be disciplined and to always work hard if you want to stay on in the sport.

"If you're not hard-working then people are going to catch you up. He told me there will be ups and downs and only a player who stays with it and works hard is going to last."

Singh also insisted he has high hopes for the coming year, but is determined to reach his goals through hard work and commitment.

He added: "I want to do what I did last year, follow my routine and process, stay in the present and make the most out of it.

"Obviously there will be ups and downs for me, but I've got to hang in there and try to work hard and, whatever comes my way, take that."