Seven years and no title, many would have put their golfing clubs to rest after such a long gap. But not Jeev Milkha. And father Milkha Singh attributes it to his perseverance that had kept the 34-year-old from giving it up.

‘‘He was determined to win this tournament. We spoke to him before the meet and he had said he was sick of losing the way he did — always starting off well and then faltering at the end — and he said that this time he would fight till the end,” said the ‘Flying Sikh’.

‘‘I have always told him to work hard, reminding him of the Tiger Woods saga. If he Woods can spend eight hours a day training why can’t you? When you lose for such a long time, frustration does set in. But not with Jeev because he never gave up the hope. In fact, I had even told him to quit at one point but he refused saying he would overcome this bad phase. I am happy he did and am sure he will win more tournaments,” Milkha said.

It was not just Milkha who knew that Jeev would never give-up. The No. 1 lady golfer in India, Irina Brar, said she was sure that Jeev would come out of the bad patch he was going through. ‘‘The stress in the pro circuit so huge that it can hamper anyone’s game. But Jeev is a fighter and we are behind him 100 per cent,” said Irina.

‘‘I think Jeev’s peak has just begun and all it takes is one win to bring that confidence back in a player,” she pointed out.

There was a consensus on this issue as another Chandigarh golfer Harinder Gupta, who is currently playing the Hero Golf Chandigarh Open, said,” Jeev is an idol for all of us in Chandigarh and we believe his best is yet to come.”