Tiger Woods underlines US Open credentials

On a golf course that hasn’t been great for Tiger Woods in the past, the world No.1 put together a stupendous performance in winning the Players Championship by two shots last week. In the process, he cemented his hold as the world number one and also his position as the overwhelming favourite for the US Open, the second Major of the season.

Merion is the host venue for this year’s US Open, and it will pretty much be a mystery to most players as not many of us have played there before. I believe Tiger too is in a similar situation, but he will take great satisfaction and motivation (not that he needs any) from playing well and winning on a golf course where he hasn’t been most comfortable before that. In the last 11 years since winning the 2001 Players at TPC Sawgrass, Tiger has had only one top-10 finish before this year.

More than anything else, I thought that fantastic up-and-down he made for par on the 15th hole on Sunday was the key moment of his victory. He seemed to be in trouble right after making a double bogey on the previous hole, and another bogey on the 15th would have been disastrous. But in making that eight-footer putt for par, Tiger showed great resolve and determination.

So that makes it four wins in six strokeplay tournaments this season and we are not even halfway through the year. This definitely looks like the year of the Tiger, and a Major win would only be the perfect icing on the cake.

Moving on, the European Tour is in Bulgaria this week for the Volvo World Match Play Championship — the first time the Tour is in that country.

I have always believed that one of the key responsibilities of tournament sponsors is to help the game grow. And one company that I will always give full marks to in this regard is Volvo.

Shifting this week’s event to Sofia is yet another example of how they think differently with their sponsorship. The move makes perfect sense not only for Volvo, but also for golf. After all, Eastern Europe is a region with great economic potential, and golf will receive a tremendous boost there with the hosting of this tournament.

Volvo did pretty much the same when they launched their Volvo Champions event in Bahrain in 2011, thus adding a fourth event to the European Tour’s Desert Swing. It’s a pity that political situation in the country forced them to move it from there, but they did think out of the box and increased the geographical spread of professional golf.

After announcing the venue change last year, a couple of Volvo officials told me that the setting of the new course is so stunning, it will blow the minds of the players and TV viewers across the globe. I checked out about Thracian Cliffs on the internet and I must admit I am feeling a little bummed that I won’t be there to compete this week.

The golf course, designed by Gary Player and called the Pebble Beach of Europe, looks out of the world. Hopefully, it will be able to create great drama during the tournament.

(Jeev Milkha Singh is a four time champion on the European Tour)