Singh the surprise winner in Singapore

The presence of major winners Padraig Harrington and Ernie Els was not enough to put off India’s Jeev Milka Singh as he emerged victorious in the Singapore Open after a final round of 69.

Singh held off the pressure from Els and Harrington who eventually finished one stroke behind the Indian. The key moment in the final round was when Harrington double bogeyed the 16th, something not normally associated with the Irishman at such a crucial stage.

He and Els both then had chances to take the tournament to a play-off, but they both missed their birdie putts to hand Singh the win. Rory McIlroy and  David Gleeson were the men to share 4th placed after recording impressive final rounds.

It was a completely different story at the start of the final day though as Thailand's Chapchai Nirat held a three shot lead over the rest of the field. However, he made a number of costly errors and struggled his way to a 78.

In the latter stages, it was clear that the victory was going to either Singh, Else or Harrington and in fairness, the golf odds probably favoured one of the latter. I guess that makes Singh’s victory all the more commendable - he held his own when it mattered.

Speaking about his win, he said that he felt like a very ‘fortunate man’ because the ‘golfing gods’ were on his side during the last few holes. Harrington was full of praise for his conqueror and revealed that despite missing out on the win he was still ’delighted’ with the year he has had.

As for Singh, well the 36-year-old will be over the moon with his efforts on the last day at the Sentosa club. He did ride his luck at times, but that takes nothing away from the fact that he held off the challenge of some of the biggest names in golf.

By Thomas Rooney - A sports writer who blogs about golf betting