His Son146;s father

The son is finally coming good on his promise. Milkha certainly thinks so. Jeev doesn8217;t. 8220;For that, I would have to win one of the major tournaments of the golf Grand Slams,8221; he declares, brushing off all comparisons with his father, the ace athlete who broke the 400-metre world record at the 1960 Rome Olympics but missed a medal by a whisker.

And, after all, Jeev8217;s long run began with his father. 8220;Looking back, it seems providence was at work, for I began playing golf in 1971 just a year before Jeev8217;s birth and as soon as he could walk, he started accompanying me to the golf course,8221; recalls Milkha. Back in those days, Chandigarh Golf Club, now a reputed nursery of champs, was taking its baby steps with a nine-hole course.

Jeev, whose year of mega wins has fetched him an invite to the Augusta Masters, was all of eight when he took to the game along with a bunch of nearly a dozen friends. 8220;I began by caddying for my father and before I knew it I was hooked,8221; he smiles.

Out of Jeev8217;s earshot, Milkha, fit as a fiddle at 76, remembers how passionate his caddy son was about golf. 8220;Once when I won a game, he was so happy that he burst into tears8221;. And then, the senior thought his son was straying, even if on the course. 8220;I wanted my only son to become an engineer or a doctor, I didn8217;t want him to waste his time on golf.8221; Jeev was promptly packed off to boarding school in Shimla against the wishes of his wife Nirmal, who, as former captain of the Indian volleyball team, perhaps knew better.

At Bishop Cotton School, Jeev took to cricket and went on to captain the team. But then came the destined turning point.

Back home on vacation, the 13-year-old won the American Express golf championship that earned him three weeks of free coaching at London. 8220;For me, it was a eureka moment, I was finally convinced that I could make it big,8221; recalls Jeev who then began to play in the amateur circuit, this time, with his father8217;s blessings. What followed was a scholarship to Abilene Christian University in Texas where he won the National Collegiate Athletic Association NAAC Division II golf championship in 1993, and was ranked among the five best players of the US. Soon afterwards, he turned pro.

The father, who won 77 of his 80 races at his peak, was happy. Today, Jeev says Milkha, who tours with him for at least a month every year, is both his harshest critic as well as his biggest motivator. 8220;The best thing about him is that he talks straight. He is the first one to tell me if I am slacking.8221;

The disciplinarian did not sugarcoat his criticism even when the son was going through a rough patch that lasted five long years. 8220;He would tell me I was not working hard enough,8221; says Jeev, grinning as he relives those heated arguments when Milkha would hector him to work harder.

8220;He would ask me why the results were not showing if I was really giving every swing my very best.8221;

But ask him if there is anything he would like to change about his dad, and you get a firm 8216;No8217;. 8220;No. He is fine the way he is.8221;

Fortunately, Jeev is never around to hear his father say the nice things. 8220;He used to motivate himself by scribbling 8216;I am born to win8217; a thousand times at one go. Do you know once he almost turned into a sadhu?8221; Milkha smiles, narrating the story of when Jeev shot a bird with an air-gun and was filled with remorse when his eldest sister told him it was an unpardonable sin. 8220;He would sit for hours in front of a picture of Guru Nanak till we approached his teacher who told him that God lives within.8221;

These days, though, Jeev is no saint on the course. Golf, both agree, is a thinking man8217;s game, requiring both mental strength and physical fitness with nothing to spare. 8220;Sprint is all about speed while golf gives you time to think. One negative thought can kill your game,8221; says Jeev, who believes his mental strength is a gift from his father. But Milkha insists it comes from within. 8220;Everyone suffers from competition phobia but victory courts those who harness all that adrenaline to their advantage,8221; he says.

The 35-year-old golfer plays 40 weeks a year 8212; his golfing circuit begins on January 9 and ends on December 17 8212; and banks on a daily dose of yoga. 8220;What is important is to stay focused over such a long time,8221; says Jeev, who finds travelling continents the most trying part of his life on the course. But the champ who sets such great store by thoughts positive, is quick to point out his blessings as well. 8220;I am lucky to be making my living from doing something I love.8221; Not to mention lucrative. Milkha started by making Rs 10 a month after being christened 8216;Flying Sikh8217; and never took home more than a few thousands; the son made Rs 13 crore last year alone.

The father8217;s athletic career was short and tumultuous; the son is determined to make his long and happy. 8220;Age is no bar in golf,8221; he grins, reeling out the various circuits for seniors and super-seniors. 8220;Do you know Arnold Palmer retired at the age of 77 this year?8221;

With 2006 upping the stakes so much 8212; Jeev jumped 329 places to be ranked 37th in the world 8212; 2007 is bound to be fraught with pressures, but he is not worried. 8220;I will just go out there and give every swing my best,8221; he shrugs. But the father is worried. 8220;He will have to work doubly hard to move up from his present ranking,8221; he murmurs.

Nobody knows the long race better than the Flying Sikh. And he knows what it takes to breast the ribbon, day after day. 8220;I want to see him on the No 1 slot in the world before I pass away.8221; Suddenly, Milkha8217;s eyes flip to soften and back. Perhaps, the No 1 slot would make up for everything 8212; the traumatic Partition, the lost childhood, the tough years in the Army, and most of all for those precious seconds that cost him a medal in the 1960 Rome Olympics.