Jeev Milkha Singh

Shanghai: Pitted against world No. 1 golfer Tiger Woods, ace Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh intends to prove his mettle at the $ 5m HSBC Champions tournament starting tomorrow.

Jeev, the current Asian Tour No. 1, has been handed a dream pairing with Woods in the opening two rounds at Sheshan International Golf club and is relishing the prospect of going head-to-head with the planet’s best player.

“I’m obviously excited to be paired with Tiger. It’s for the first time that I’m going to play with him and hopefully I can learn something and see how he manages the golf course,” said Jeev, who will be joined by England’s Paul Casey as the third member of the marquee pairing.

“It’s going to be an exciting day and I’m looking forward to it. I think playing with Tiger is a reward for the performances that I’ve had this year. It’s going to be an experience for me. I have a lot of respect for him because I think he’s done a lot for the game of golf worldwide.”

Jeev’s Shanghai showdown with the American superstar, a 12-time Major winner, will be closely watched as the Indian star has been Asia’s most in-form player this season.

Tiger Woods

He secured a monumental triumph at the European Tour’s season-ending Volvo Masters in Spain a fortnight ago. Earlier, he had ended his seven-year winless drought at the co-sanctioned Volvo China Open in Beijing.

That win in April sparked a remarkable turnaround in Jeev’s career and he rode on his new-found confidence to post 13 other top-10s on the Asian, Japan and European Tours this year.

With his world ranking shooting up to a career high 73 after starting the year at 376th, Jeev is now hoping to break into the top-50 to earn a US Masters invite to go with a British Open appearance already in hand as well.

“I was pretty excited with the win. Obviously, playing the flagship tournament in Europe and winning it, it gives a player a lot of confidence and I think a lot of satisfaction too. If it (moving up the rankings) happens, I’ll be very happy. If it doesn’t, I’ve got another week,” said Jeev.