By IANS,
Bloomfield Township (Michigan) : India’s Jeev Milkha Singh took yet another step towards by posting his first top-10 finish in a Major, as he finished ninth at the US PGA Championships at the Oakland Hills Country Club.
Jeev’s tied ninth finish here Sunday is the best performance by an Indian at a Major so far. The Chandigarh golfer improved on his tied 25th place at the US Masters earlier this year, which was the last best finish for India at a Major.
Jeev posted his first-ever top-10 finish in a Major after shooting three-over 73, despite four bogeys on the back nine, in the final round. He shot 68, 74, 70 and 73 as he totalled five over 285.
Ireland’s Padraig Harrington shot his second straight 66 for a winning total of three-under 277 and recorded his second straight Major success in a row, coming within four weeks of his win at the British Open.
“This is my best finish, but I should gave finished higher. I dropped some bogeys on the back nine and dropped me back,” said Jeev. “My ankle is still hurting but I am playing well. After one more week I plan to take two to four weeks off to give my ankle a rest.”
The 2006 Asia No.1, who has been nursing an ankle injury for the last few weeks, had a solid front nine as he made eight pars and sank a birdie on the third. He then had some trouble on the back nine as he bogeyed the 11th, 13th, 14th and 18th.
Earlier in the day, Jeev completed his third round which was halted Saturday when rain had led to suspension of play. He commenced round three from the second hole and went on to make birdies on the seventh, ninth, 12th and bogeys on the eighth, 10th and 14th for an even par 70.
Jeev has had a fabulous 2008 so far. He has already registered wins at the Bank of Austria Golf Open and the Nagashima Shegio Invitational Sega Sammy Cup, and has also posted two runner-up finishes and four other top 10s besides his tied 25th at the US Masters.
Jeev’s performance at the US PGA Championship is now certain to push him up the official world golf rankings from his current 66th position.