Jeev Milkha Singh diary: Keeping fingers crossed after a washout on Day I

My debut start in my first Senior Tour event in Mauritius was perhaps not what I hoped or planned for in the season-ending 2021 MCB Tour Championship – Mauritius, over the 6,579 yards Legends Course at Constance Belle Mare Plage.

I was privileged to be in the first group of the day teeing off with Paul Eales (England), who also balances his playing schedule along with some TV commentary work on the DP World Tour. My amateur partner this week is Ryan Howson in a Pro / Amateur Alliance betterball format.

Ryan is the new investor in the European Legends Tour, but more of Ryan later in the article.

Play was suspended early in the day when a cyclone hit the golf course with winds and heavy rain. We then managed a few more holes, but the rain returned and play was called off for the day by officials, due to flooding on the golf course after we had completed 10 holes. The last group off today has played just two holes.

We will restart on Saturday at 8 am local time and it is perhaps fortunate that there are just 59 pros in the field.

Both Paul and I stand at level par after our 10 holes, and I am very proud of my work today. The leaders are at two under par, but it is still early days in this tournament.

The winds and rain were just like playing in Scotland, but fortunately, it was a lot warmer (it’s not a criticism of Scottish golf. I love golf in Scotland, and I achieved one of my biggest career wins in 2012 at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Castle Stuart).

The weather forecast for the week is not great news for either the tournament or the Mauritius Tourism Board. We will just take each day as it comes and if the tournament is played over 36 holes, rather than the planned 54, so be it, it is virtually the same conditions for all players.

We do not know how lucky we all are in Dubai and the UAE with the gorgeous 12-month climate, especially in the winter months. There are so few days a year that you see the golf courses in Dubai closed, maybe never, just perhaps for maintenance.

Ryan Howson, my playing partner is a real character and has a unique passion for the game you rarely meet. He has introduced a real buzz to the rebranded Legends Tour, with the addition of a celebrity element as well as encouraging enhanced engagement between the pros and amateurs, both on and off the golf course.

Ryan and his Legends Tour team have ambitious plans and after 10 holes we are already discussing how we can collectively look at, perhaps, bringing the Legends Tour model to the Middle East.

I am now off to dry my golf club grips, clothes, shoes and socks and even my waterproofs and umbrella, ready for tomorrow. I have not done this for a while.

Stay dry and speak to you all soon!

- Jeev Milkha Singh is a Dubai Golden Visa Awardee and Dubai resident. He has won four tournaments on the DP World Tour, four on the Japan Golf Tour, six on the Asian Tour and seven other global titles in Malaysia, India, Thailand and on the Korean Tour.