No Major till fully fit: Jeev

Troubled by rib injury at US Open, Indian ace has learnt his lesson

 Jeev ignored a rib injury to tee up in the US Open, but fitness and the weather combined to derail his campaign and, for the first time, the Indian failed to make the cut in the tournament.

Jeev, who has pulled out of this week’s BMW International in Munich to allow the injury to heal, does not think he made a mistake by playing the US Open but vowed never to compete in a Major when he is not at his fittest.

“Not for a moment do I regret my decision to play the US Open. I may have missed the cut in what turned out to be an extremely difficult draw for those playing the morning groups in the opening round, but I have surely come out a much wiser man from the experience,” Jeev said.

“The only reason I risked further injury was because it was a Major championship, and I did not want to let go the opportunity. The lesson I have learnt is that I am not going to risk further aggravating an injury and will tee up for the Majors only when I am 100 percent fit. I have promised myself I am not going to tee up, even if the tournament happens to be the Masters.

“There is no point of playing these big tournaments if you are not fully fit. The courses are set up in such a manner that they are going to magnify your weaknesses,” he added.

Jeev hopes to be fit for the French Open. “Hopefully, the injury would have subsided by the Thursday of the French Open week. I enjoy playing at the Le Golf course in Paris and would like a good finish there to build a momentum towards next month’s Open Championship at Turnberry,” Jeev said.

Looking back at the US Open, Jeev said he was always at a disadvantage once it started raining at Bethpage Black.

“The ribs hurt the most when I was hitting my driver, and because I was not releasing the club properly, I kept spraying my tee shots. In the end, I finished at 11-over, and I was actually proud of my second round of three-over 73. It was again raining for most part of our round, and I thought I fought pretty well despite my handicap.”