Colombo (Sri Lanka)

India’s golf legend Jeev Milkha Singh provided the inaugural season of the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL) a dream finish as he beat a host of young and experienced stars to win the IGPL Invitational Sri Lanka, the final event of the season.

Jeev, who has not won a pro event since 2012, gave his young rivals a perfect lesson on the Royal Colombo Golf Course greens in the final event of the inaugural season.

After a modest second day, Jeev spent almost half an hour at the putting green. It may well have paid off as he putted superbly to add to his splendid iron play that saw him hit his approaches to inside 5-10 feet. At one stage, he had five birdies in a row and seven in a span of nine holes between the sixth and the 14th.

Starting two shots behind Aryan Roopa Anand, Jeev, who turned 54 ten days ago, turned the clock with a closing 6-under 65 to total 15-under. He beat Aryan by one shot. Aryan (68), needing an eagle on the Par-4 18th to force a play-off, managed only a birdie and was sole second at 14-under.

As Jeev won his maiden IGPL title, Pukhraj Singh Gill, despite finishing T-12th, won the IGPL Order of Merit by a razor-thin margin over Aman Raj and Gaganjeet Bhullar. After 11 events carrying Rs. 1.5 crore prize purse with Rs. 22.50 lakh for the winner, Pukhraj, was less than Rs. 9,000 ahead of Aman Raj.

An emotional Jeev Milkha Singh was mobbed by friends after the finish, drained both physically and mentally. Playing in Sri Lanka

for the first time,

Jeev said the victory was special as it marked the place where his parents’ relationship began. Having lost them in 2021, he said he returned to the game in 2022 to play and win for them.