I will be back for the Open, says Jeev

Jeev Milkha Singh finished his campaign at the 141st Open Championships rather tamely with a three-over 73 that ended with a double bogey on the 18th in Lytham, England, on Sunday.

Jeev's 73 saw him end the week at 10-over 280 and in tied 73rd place.

He was off even before Anirban Lahiri had teed up for the final round.

"Wish him (Lahiri) luck from my side. He is having great week and will learn a lot from this week," said Jeev as he left for London enroute to India, where he will spend a week with his family.

Lahiri was due to tee of at just before 1 pm local time.

Jeev admitted he was disappointed at not being able to do better, but said, "I was really glad to be here. I enjoyed every bit of it. I expected better results than the way it has ended up. I fought hard."

"My goal was to finish under par but I fell short. Mentally I'm tired and I'll rest next week and start again at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational (in August). I must admit I was not mentally sharp enough. May be it was the highs of last week. So, I am looking forward to a week in Chandigarh."

"Time to celebrate (the Scottish win). We'll have a few parties at home. Will be nice to catch up with the family after the Scottish win and the start at the Open. My next two events will be the WGC at Akron and the PGA Championships at Kiawah Islands. I should have re-charged my batteries by then," he added.

On the final day Jeev had one birdie on the par-5 seventh and bogeys on sixth and 15th and a double on 18th.

Jeev, who has played five weeks in a row, rose to 87th last week after the win in the play-off in Scotland last Sunday.

His next goal is to get into top-50 and earn him a return to The Masters Tournament next April.

Jeev loves his Masters belt, which he used all week at Royal Lytham and St Annes. It looked worn out but Jeev is hopeful he can return to Augusta National to buy a new one after featuring in the prestigious tournament from 2007 to 2009.

"Next year, I need a new belt," he said laughing. "I have loved every bit of the Masters. It's my favourite Major championship and I'm hoping to get back there."

Jeev, whose best finish at the Masters was tied 25th in 2008, also completed a personal milestone this week by making the cut which means he has now played in four rounds of all the Majors.

"What I take from here is that this is my first Open where I played four rounds," concluded Jeev.

Photograph: Andrew Redington/Getty Images