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Singh soars to number 37 in the world

India’s Jeev Milkha Singh ended his stunning 2006 campaign on a high note when he was ranked 37th on the Official World Golf Ranking after the season-ending Volvo Masters of Asia.

Singh soared eight spots on the rankings after a joint sixth place finish in Bangkok on Sunday and being placed in the top-50 in the world has also secured him exemptions into all four Majors next year.

Singh sent shockwaves across the globe after winning four titles on three different Tours in 2006. The 35-year-old’s rise to fame this year started in April when he triumphed at the Volvo China Open. He went on to win the Volvo Masters in Spain in October.

Singh, who was crowned the Asian Tour’s UBS Order of Merit winner, then lifted his first ever title in Japan at the Casio World Open in November followed by a repeat performance at the Golf Nippon Series JT Cup earlier this month.

Singh also managed to chalk up 15 other top-10 finishes around the world this year.

Singh is amongst 16 Asian Tour members who are ranked inside the top-200 in the world.

Thanks to his success at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai last month, Korea’s Yang Yong-eun was ranked 33rd while compatriot Choi Kyung-ju was placed 29th. Yang defeated the world’s best players including Tiger Woods, Michael Campbell and Retief Goosen while Choi had previously bagged his fourth US PGA title at the Chrysler Championship in October.

Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee enjoyed home success at the recently concluded Volvo Masters of Asia and ended the year in 75th place. Thongchai had also maintained his run of winning a title every year since 2000 and finished as Asia’s second best golfer in 2006, the sixth year in a row that he has finished inside the top-three of the final UBS Order of Merit.

Jyoti Randhawa of India, who finished in the top-20 at the Thai Country Club, was ranked 84th while Englishman Simon Dyson, won the Enjoy Jakarta HSBC Indonesia Open in May, was in 88th place followed by Korea’s Hur Suk-ho in 93rd. Randhawa also impressed in front of local fans as he had previously won the Hero Honda Indian Open in October.

Australia’s young talent Andrew Buckle made his way to 103rd in the rankings after a top-10 finish on Sunday. It was Buckle’s third top-10 result this year as he had previously finished runner-up in Indonesia and the TCL Classic in China in March.

He also claimed joint second spot at the Nationwide Tour Championship in November and secured his card on the US PGA Tour next year. Buckle broke through in a big way in his maiden appearance on the Nationwide Tour when he won the Virginia Beach Open in May.

China’s top golfer Liang Wen-chong enjoyed his best season on the Asian Tour as he is ranked 140th in the world. Liang finished among the frontrunners at the star studded Barclays Singapore Open in September.

Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng finished in joint 10th place at the Volvo Masters of Asia and ended the year in 156th place while compatriot Thaworn Wiratchant, last year’s Asian number one, enjoyed six top-10 finishes this season including a joint fourth place outing on Sunday. He is ranked 163rd at the end of 2006. He was also Thailand’s top performance when he finished in 31st place in his maiden British Open appearance.

American Edward Loar ended his Bangkok outing in tied sixth and was ranked 172nd while Aussie youngster Jarrod Lyle was 179th in the world. Lyle had a memorable year as he enjoyed a runner-up result at the ING New Zealand PGA Championship, a fourth place finish at the Jacob’s Creek Open Championship and a top-three performance at the PalmettoPride Classic in October and earned his card on the US PGA Tour through the Nationwide Tour money list.

India’s Shiv Kapur, last year’s Volvo Masters of Asia champion, is ranked 184th in the world. He ended his Asian campaign in eighth spot on the UBS Order of Merit. With a top-five result this week, Prom Meesawat was a spot below Shiv in the world ranking. He enjoyed his maiden triumph on the Asian Tour at the SK Telecom Open and ended the season third on the money list.

Korea’s Charlie Wi, the Maybank Malaysian Open winner, was ranked 191st after finishing third at the season-ending event while Chinese Taipei’s Wang Ter-chang, who won the Brunei Open title in August, was ranked 198th.

December 19, 2006