Jeev finishes tied 9th in USPGA to create history

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Aug 11 (UNI) Ace Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh created history by posting his first-ever top-10 finish in a major, after shooting three over 73 in the final round of the USPGA Championship at the Oakland Hills Country Club here.

Jeev (68, 74, 70, 73) finished tied ninth with a total of five over 285 yesterday.

Ireland's Padraig Harrington shot his second straight 66 for a winning total of three under 277 and recorded his second major success in a row.

Jeev's tied ninth position is the best performance by an Indian at a major so far.

The Chandigarh pro has improved on his tied 25th place at the US Masters earlier this year, which was the last best finish for India at a major.

The 2006 Asia number one, who has been nursing an ankle injury for the last few weeks, had a solid front nine as he made eight pars and sank a birdie on the third. He then had some trouble on the back nine as he bogeyed the 11th, 13th, 14th and 18th.

Earlier in the day, Jeev completed his third round which was halted on Saturday when rain had led to suspension of play. He commenced round three from the second hole and went on to make birdies on the seventh, ninth, 12th and bogeys on the eighth, 10th and 14th.

The Indian has had a fabulous 2008 so far. He has already registered wins at the Bank Austria Golf Open and the Nagashima Shegio Invitational Sega Sammy Cup, and has also posted two runner-up finishes and four other top 10s besides his tied 25th at the US Masters.

Jeev's performance at the USPGA Championship is now certain to push him up the official world golf rankings from his current 66th position.

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