India’s Jeev Milkha Singh makes his debut at The Senior Open Presented by Rolex

Gulf News

Golf’s Jeev Milkha Singh is not only making his Senior Open debut, but is the first Indian to play in the events lengthy history. This year the tournament is played at Gleaneagles, Auchterarder, Perthshire in Scotland from 21st – 24th July.  Read the full story here: https://gulfnews.com/sport/golf-in-uae/world/jeev-milkha-singh-in-good-shape-to-compete-in-the-senior-open-1.89410054  See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km  Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV  #UAEnews #golf  #sports

Transcript

00:00Jeev, thanks for your time. It must be a very proud moment for you to be the first Indian

00:12player to compete in the Senior Open Championship this year.

00:15Yes, it is. It's a very proud moment for me, being the first Indian to be playing in the

00:19Senior British Open, oldest major championship, and here I am, beautiful golf course, Glen

00:27Eagles, the Kings course. Coming from India, you always thought about playing golf, making

00:35a name for yourself, making a name for the country you were born in, and here I am, playing

00:43the major championship with all the guys who I've played golf with for years on tour, and

00:48I'm the rookie on tour, and I'm making the most out of it and enjoying it.

00:53You played the Centenary course in the Johnny Walker Championship, but your initial impressions

00:57of the Kings course? I played the Pro-Am yesterday. I think it

01:03is a perfect setup for a Senior Open. It's not a bomber's golf course. I think you've

01:09got to place the ball really well off the tee, and also for your second shot, the way

01:13the greens are designed, and with the slopes on the greens. And if the wind picks up, you

01:21don't need a driver here too often, because you can always place the ball before the bunkers

01:27and certain bunkers you can fly, but if you don't get a good bounce, the rough is up.

01:32It's very difficult to find your ball, and also, basically, you've got to chip out of

01:37the rough. So I think it's better to just keep it in play, take your medicine, hit it

01:41on the green, two-putt, one-putt, and move on. And I think this is a perfect venue for

01:47the Senior Open. Do you feel it can play a bit like a Lynx

01:49golf course here? It can, for sure, because yesterday the wind

01:55wasn't there, but if the wind picks up in the next four days, and the rain comes, it

02:01will play like a Lynx golf course, because the favours are firm, the greens are firm,

02:07and if the wind picks up, it's going to be a good test of golf.

02:13Third last week in Germany, you must take a lot of encouragement coming into a major

02:17championship this week. Yes, it gave me a lot of confidence finishing

02:23third last week in Germany. Before that, I was struggling because I had COVID after

02:29the USPGA, and I was in a bad shape. A lot of weakness had set in. I wasn't too bad with

02:38the COVID, but after that, the reaction was that I had a lot of weakness and I couldn't

02:44practice, but I did a little bit of work last week where I felt that I can work and my body's

02:50staying with me, and I had a good result, and I'm hoping that the form stays on this

02:54week and I enjoy it. You mentioned the names you played with on

02:59the main tour. The strength of field this week is seriously good, isn't it? What's it

03:03like to compete with these guys that have won major championships?

03:08You know, all these guys, playing with them week in, week out, when I just started my

03:12career, seeing them win major championships, I think they are fantastic players. The depth

03:18of the field is amazing this week. These guys know how to get the ball around and hold

03:25putts. I think it's going to be anybody's week this week because the competition is

03:30so deep, and the strength is really good this week. So, you know, I can't pinpoint who's

03:37going to win, but I'm just going to enjoy it because it's my first one, and I'm going

03:42to make the most out of it. Finally, turning 15 in your rookie year on

03:47the tour, do you feel you've got a new lease of life now you're playing competitively again?

03:54Yes, I joked around with the guys on tour. I said, how are you young boys? I'm the rookie

04:00on tour. It's my first year. I want to make the most out of it. I feel good. I feel young.

04:06I feel happy that I'm with the boys. I'm the youngest one on tour, and I'm enjoying every

04:12moment every week with these guys. It's more relaxed, the atmosphere on the senior tour.

04:19It's basically kind of a retirement for you. It's a retirement fun, and you want to make

04:25the most out of it. Basically, as a player, you want to stay fit for another 10 years

04:31so that you can enjoy that retirement for another 10 years. But it's a player's choice

04:36whether you want to enjoy it for two years, three years if you don't stay fit. But if

04:39you stay fit, and if you're good enough, and you keep working on the game, you can

04:42enjoy it for the next 10 to 15 years.

04:44Thanks for your time.

04:46Nice talking to you.

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Transcript

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