Jeev Milkha Singh certainly loves a Volvo! The 34 year old Indian golfer from Chandigarth followed up his victory in the Volvo China Open earlier this year by capturing The European Tour’s season-ending event, the Volvo Masters on his debut appearance at Valderrama.
Not for the first time, the Volvo Masters lived up to his billing as a climactic finish to the year. With a gripping sub-plot involving Padraig Harrington just edging out Paul Casey for The European Tour Order of Merit crown by the small matter of €35,252 (£23,616), the tournament simply sizzled from start to finish.
In the end, the drama at Valderrama came down to the final match on the golf course. Singh, the first Indian golfer to qualify for The European Tour, took advantage of Sergio Garcia’s last hole bogey to win the €666,660 (£446,598) first prize with a closing round of 72 and a two under par total of 282.
Garcia, for the third successive year, had to settle for second place – a runner-up finish which allowed Harrington to overhaul Casey in the dying breaths of a tumultuous season. The Spaniard tied for second on 283, one behind Singh, along with England’s Luke Donald and Harrington, who both shot 69.
Had Garcia tied with Singh, Casey would have won the Harry Vardon Trophy. Instead, the Irishman received his small but precious award from The European Tour Executive Director, George O’Grady. It was all very reminiscent of 11 years earlier, when Colin Montgomerie holed a four foot par putt on the home green to deny Sam Torrance.
England’s David Howell finished tied fifth with Niclas Fasth of Sweden on 284 to remain in third place on the Order of Merit while another Swede, Robert Karlsson, also finished in the position in which he set out – fourth – after shoot a last round 75 for 21st place alongside Casey and six others.
Casey could certainly feel that luck was not on his side. Had it not been for his illness on Thursday, when he shot 76, the Englishman might have done enough to keep Harrington at bay. It was not to be, however, and the Irishman savoured the moment along with wife Caroline and son Patrick.
Singh, who led by a stroke going into the final round, appeared to have lost his chance when he bogeyed the 12th and 13th holes on Valderrama’s fiendish back nine. However he held his nerve and, with Garcia bogeying the 13th and 14th, Singh played the critical shot at the right time.
Off a perfect drive at the 17th, Singh ignored the lapping waters around the green and smashed a six iron from 205 yards to 12 feet and two putted for a birdie four. That earned him a two stroke cushion, although he didn’t know it at the time due to a reluctance to check the leaderboards.
A pushed tee shot at the last brought the prospect of a play-off sharply into focus and Harrington returned to the driving range in case the Indian made a double bogey. In fact, Singh played his third to eight feet and used both his putts for a bogey five and a one stroke victory.
“I think I should play all the Volvo tournaments because they are lucky for me,” quipped Singh after accepting the sparkling trophy. “This is the biggest victory of my career so far and is going to stay with me for the rest of my life. It means a lot to me. I think this is going to be big for Indian golf. I feel more sponsors will come out and more kids will try to make a career from the sport.”
He explained: “I was basically trying to avoid thoughts which were going to put pressure on me. I was just trying to focus on what I had to do. I followed the same routine.”
Singh, whose father was an Olympic sprinter, recalled some words of advice passed down from father to son. He said: “My father always told me to stay in the present and to breathe well, to stay calm when the pressure was on. I tried to keep it consistent and it certainly helped.”
