THE MASTER
Some months ago a woman in the US shot a hole-in-one. She was 93 and told the newspapers her only regret was: "I started golf at 87." So at 27 Jeev Milkha Singh has time. He sees golfers like Mark O'Meara win major titles in their 40s, and he is reassured. All this is important, for Jeev isn't there to make up the numbers. As he says: "One day I want to win the Masters."

Golf's ultimate prize may elude him, but it is the purity of his self belief that gives him an identity. As Rishi Narain, a gold medallist at the 1982 Asian Games, puts it: "He puts pressure on himself, he wants to win so badly." It has paid off with wins in Asia (the first and only Indian to do so).

The ambitious man has gone onto the European tour (again the first and only Indian), an arena so daunting that winds can shift a putt three feet off line. With a No. 48 ranking and about $300,000 in total prize money, Jeev has proved he can last the distance.

Now comes his biggest challenge. Qualifying for the US PGA Tour, home of the best. At least he has the passion to make it. "People often say," he points out, "when you lose, relax, golf isn't everything." He pauses, then says: "They don't realise, it's every damn thing."