Greater Noida, 01-09-2024

Jeev Milkha Singh finishes tied third for career-best result on Legends Tour; Swede Joakim Haeggman walks away with the title

Jyoti Randhawa finishes tied ninth for fourth top-10 of the season

Tournament host Jeev Milkha Singh endured a disappointing final day at the $500,000 HSBC India Legends Championship to finish in a tie for third place at the Jaypee Greens Golf Course here on Sunday.

Joakim Haeggman (65-70-72) posted a last round of even-par 72 to emerge wire-to-wire champion with a two-shot margin at a total of nine-under 207. Haeggman thus lifted his second trophy on the Legends Tour.

Joakim said, “In the end, it got really exciting, more exciting than it needed to be. But again, played well, hit some really nice shots in, really close at times. Hitting eight irons, seven irons to less than three or four feet and just being able to convert to some simple birdies as well.

“It's been a really long two and a half days in the heat trying to stay on top and not lose focus. I had one mistake today and that got Jeev and the boys back into the tournament.  But I'm really happy that I managed to keep it going.”

Andrew Marshall (73-71-65) of England finished runner-up at seven-under 209.

Playing in the final group alongside Jyoti Randhawa and event leader Joakim Haeggman of Sweden, Jeev was two shots behind Haeggman after 17 holes and decided to attack the final hole and ended with a triple-bogey 7 to finish on four-over 76 for the day and four-under 212 for the tournament in shared third with Thomas Gogele of Germany.

In the end, Jeev’s (65-70-72) gamble of trying to mount pressure on the leader may not have paid off but did not damage his final standing too much even after first finding water off the tee and then blasting his third shot way off line and on to the 10th tee box.

A chip back to the 18th green area and another to get on the putting surface meant the 52-year-old was already over par, and a two-putt finish helped limit the damage to a triple-bogey and a drop of one place from second on the leaderboard. Jeev thus recorded his best ever finish on the Legends Tour and moved up nine spots to 19th place on the Order of Merit.

Jeev said, “Honestly, being a host of the first Legends Tour tournament in India, I think all the players are very happy and they're going to take back good memories. I think I've done a good job with that.

“I would like to thank all the people on board for making this event happen and to make it a success. I would like to thank HSBC India for coming forward, and all the other sponsors. Especially, thank all the players for making the effort, for coming down and playing this week.

“I would like to congratulate Joakin Haeggman, whom I call Haggy. I have known him for years. Well done to him, he played beautifully today.”

Jyoti Randhawa (68-72-74) was the next best of the Indian contenders in tied ninth place on two-under 214 while the wily Mukesh Kumar scripted a final day’s two-under 70 to take a share of 15th place after earlier cards of 74 and 72 at the Legends Tour event that was co-sanctioned by the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI). It was Randhawa’s fourth top-10 in the current Legends Tour season and placed him 25th in the Order of Merit.

Amandeep Johl had a closing 73 to aggregate 219 for the event and earn a tied 22nd placing while Vishal Singh, Digvijay Singh, Vijay Kumar, Sanjay Kumar, and Harmeet Kahlon were further down the leaderboard.

In fact, Mukesh, winner of around 125 titles, had the day’s best round by an Indian, putting three birdies on his card against one dropped shot. “It has been more than 10 years since I last played here but I enjoyed myself. The greens were a little difficult to understand for the first two days but after that I was able to adjust.

“I’m 60 now and don’t have a regular schedule on the PGTI also, so I was definitely satisfied with my performance of two-under 214 after three rounds. Today I was able to play to my plan and it was good to get an under-par total for the tournament.”

Prize Presentation Picture Caption:

From L tor R:
- Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI
- Kadam Singh - Vice President, Content & Partnerships, Marketing, Wealth & Personal Banking, HSBC India
- Golfer Jeev Milkha Singh, host of HSBC India Legends Championship
- Joakim Haeggman, winner of HSBC India Legends Championship
- Nikhil Singhal - Managing Director & National Manager, Global Private Banking, Wealth & Personal Banking, HSBC India
- Dhiraj Jha, Chairman of the Tournament Organizing Committee
- Phil Harrison, CEO, Legends Tour