Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Jeev nominated for 'Johnnie Walker Asian Golfer of the Year'


NEW DELHI: Jeev Milkha Singh's stellar show last season earned him a nomination for the 'Johnnie Walker Asian Golfer of the Year' Award to be given a way on February 21 in Perth.

Jeev rose to a career-high 35th in the international rankings after bagging four titles last year and becoming the first player in Asian Tour's history to surpass the $1 million mark in a single season.

The others in contention for the 'Asian Golfer of the Year' award are Thais Prayad Marksaeng and Thongchai Jaidee and Chinese-Taipei's Lin Wen-tang, Jhonnie Walker said in a statement.

Marksaeng secured three victories on the Japan Tour, including the prestigious the Dunlop Phoenix tournament, and secured an invite to the US Masters.

Jaidee had two end-of-season victories which saw him equal Thaworn Wiratchant's record of 10 Asian Tour victories.

Wen-tang, on the other hand, enjoyed his finest year as a professional, winning two titles and finishing second on the Order of Merit.

Past Asian Golfer of the Year awardees include Thailand's Boonchu Ruangkit in 1995, Kyi Hla Han, the Chairman of the Asian Tour, in 1998, Korea's KJ Choi (2002 and 2007).

For the 'Asian Rising Star of the Year' award, Japan's Ryo Ishikawa, the 17-year-old who has been invited to Augusta Masters after becoming the youngest golfer to reach the top-100 in international rankings, faces competition from three others.

Koreans Noh Seung-yul and Bae Sang-moon and Malaysia's Ben Leong are the other contenders for the award.

The winners of the awards would be voted by a panel of judges from The European, Asian and Australasian Tours and Johnnie Walker.

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Jeev_nominated_for_Johnnie_Walker_award/articleshow/4069757.cms

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