01-06-2025
Jeev Milkha's son Harjai clinches his first major Indian Golf Union title: ‘Winning feels special'
A year after he played along with his father 14-time international winner Jeev Milkha Singh in the PGTI Chandigarh Open as an amateur, 15-year-old Harjai Milkha Singh has won his first major Indian Golf Union title — the IGU Southern India Junior Boys Golf Championship — played at Coimbatore Golf Club from May 27 to May 30. A tenth-standard student at Strawberry Fields High School, Sector 26, Harjai carded an overall score of nine-over-297 to win the overall category A and B titles. Post-win, he got a message from his father, who is in Korea to play in Senior tournaments.
'Before the tournament, my father told me to stay in process and to continue what I have always done. He has always been an advocate of supporting me whichever way my coach Jesse Grewal wants me to train and his advice to me is always to trust my own instincts. That's what I was trying to do in Coimbatore. Winning the title feels special. My father did congratulate me saying 'well done' but I know he would want me not to think about this win for long and start the process again,' Harjai told The Indian Express.
While a young Jeev started playing golf at the age of nine on seeing his father and Indian legend Milkha Singh play golf at Chandigarh Golf Club, a young Harjai would first try his hands at cricket and football at his school before choosing golf. In 2017, Harjai won the Milkha Junior Challenge in 2017 before he finished third in the US Kids Golf World Championship in Malaysia in 2018. In 2023, Harjai won the title in the U-13 category in the US Kids Golf European Championship in Scotland before he competed in the Jersey Legends Cup at La Moye Club, Channel Islands as an amateur where his father too competed. Harjai had finished fourth among amateur golfers in the tournament.
On Friday, Harjai carded a final-round score of four-over-76 to edge out Maharashtra golfer Siddhant Nathan for the title. Harjai had carded a score of three-under-69 in the third round but with Coimbatore seeing some cold weather and rains, it was a tough task for the Chandigarh youngster. 'I had won the Category B title here last year. So, I had some idea about the course conditions. But with wind and rainy conditions, the fairways were playing softer apart from the greens playing faster. So, I had to adjust to the conditions here this time,' Harjai added.
Harjai will next play in two tournaments in Thailand before he plays in the US in two American Junior Golf Association tournaments. The youngster will also aim to play in the qualifiers for the US Amateur Championships. 'I will be playing in two Thailand Golf Association tournaments before I go to the US to compete in the American Junior Golf Association Huntsville Junior and Tuscaloosa Junior Championship. I will also aim to play in the qualifiers of the US Amateur National Golf Championships,' said Singh.
Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story 'Harmans of Moga', Nitin has also been a two-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women's cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships.
An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin's interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read More
