Jeev becomes first Indian to play in Volvo World Matchplay

Jeev Milkha Singh will reach another golfing milestone in his illustrious career as he becomes the first Indian to tee up at the 16-man World Matchplay Championships beginning in Casares on Thursday.

The reigning Asian Tour No 1 conceded his ankle injury has not healed yet but sounded confident of making it to the semi-final.

"The field is absolutely world class and it will be good to play against them in match play," said the golfer, clubbed in Group D along with Lee Westwood, Camilo Villegas and Ross Fisher.

"My ankle, because of which I made some changes in my schedule, is still not fully fine. But I'm hoping it will hold up in matchplay.

"If I get past the first stage and make the semi-finals, then it will get even more challenging. However my game has been in great shape and I'm expecting to do well," said the affable Indian.

Jeev has fond memories of both Spain and Volvo, having won the Volvo China Open and the Volvo Masters of Europe in the past.

"Volvo sure does have some great memories for me and I hope to feed off that," quipped Jeev.

This is for the first time that an Indian will be playing the event and the magnitude of the achievement was not lost on Jeev.

"Yes, it is always an honour to see the Indian flag fly at an international event. I feel proud to see the flag and to be able to make India's presence felt here would be fantastic," said the golfer who plays Westwood on Thursday and then meet Villegas and Fisher on Friday.

In the 16-man field, each golfer plays their group members in a round robin format over full 18-hole matches and the leading player from each group qualify for the semi-final knockout stage of the € 3,250,000 event.

Groups

Seve Ballesteros Group A: Paul Casey, Retief Goosen, Anthony Kim and Scott Strange.

Mark McCormack Group B: Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Robert Allenby, Oliver Wilson.

Gustaf Larson Group C: Henrik Stenson, Rory McIlroy, Angel Cabrera, Simon Dyson.

Assar Gabrielsson Group D: Lee Westwood, Camilo Villegas, Ross Fisher and Jeev Milkha Singh.