A big thank you to Dubai Golf CEO Chris May for hosting one of my senior buddies, Mark Mouland, says the Dubai Golden Visa holder
By Jeev Milkha Singh in conversation with Nick Tarratt, Khaleej Times Guest Golf Writer
It’s day two of my week hosting the $500,000 HSBC India Legends at Championship Jaypee Greens Golf Club.
Yesterday was packed with media duties, which went really well. The Indian media are incredibly supportive of big sporting events, especially when there’s local participation, as there is this week in Delhi.
Today, I made sure to get some time on the range and work on my putting – I can’t lose sight of why I’m here.
I did not play in the Pro-Am, but I was involved in both the Pro-Am prize presentation and tomorrow’s Pro-Am – as well as tonight’s Tournament Welcome Dinner where I will address the gathering of elite veteran golfers, officials and guests.
It is great to catch up with all my fellow players – I had a nice conversation with Welsh golfer Mark Mouland. He stayed in Dubai for a few days after the Zambia Golf Legends Championship in Africa before coming to Delhi, which was a free week.
Mark told me it was pretty hot in Dubai, no surprise there. But he still managed some decent practice at Emirates Golf Club and even checked out TOPGOLF.
A big thank you to Chris May, CEO of Dubai Golf, for hosting one of my senior buddies. Thank you, Chris!
I still can’t comment on the golf course here at Jaypee Greens as I haven’t seen it yet, but the players have been speaking highly of it. I’ll wait until Thursday’s Pro-Am to see it for myself.
I had some time today to check out the level of competition in the field this week. It’s impressive to see so many Legends Tour winners among the 64 players. This includes six event winners from this season and a Major champion, Michael Campbell from New Zealand, who won the 2005 US Open at Pinehurst.
I’m particularly excited to see how my fellow Indian golfers perform against the best on the Legends Tour this week.
It’s a great opportunity for them to showcase their skills. There are nine Indian players on the field, including Jyoti Randhawa and myself. Jyoti won the Legends Qualifying School in January in Belek, Turkey, where only five cards were up for grabs across two stages.
Jyoti secured the top spot—proving just how tough it is to earn a place in professional golf these days, no matter where or when you’re competing. He’s definitely earned his spot here.
The other Indian golfers in the field are Mukesh Kumar, Digvijay Singh, Harmeet Kahlon, and Vijay Kumar – all past winners on the Asian Tour – along with Amandeep Johl, Vishal Singh, and Sanjay Kumar.
This week marks event number 11 out of 19 on our Legends Tour 2024 schedule.
I can sense the excitement among the players as we all eagerly await the tournament’s start on Friday morning—it’s always a long week leading up to that first competitive shot. Our media team at the Legends Tour is collaborating with the PGTI to maximize media coverage.
I feel like I’m contributing something to the Khaleej Times Daily Diary.
At yesterday’s Press Conference, I discovered a fascinating fact: the Legends Tour has become the top golf tour on YouTube, with over 1.75 million subscribers.
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This growth has pushed our over-50 Tour ahead of the PGA Tour in subscriber numbers on the platform. That’s great news for everyone involved and quite a stat to reflect on.
Tomorrow’s a new day, and I’ll be focusing both physically and mentally on preparing for the tournament. I’m feeling good where I am now—let’s hope I feel the same in another 24 hours.
Jeev Milkha Singh is a Dubai Golden Visa Awardee. He is 52 years old and is the first player from India to join the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour) in 1998 and play in the Masters. He has 20 worldwide professional wins to his name.