Old pros Jeev Milkha Singh and Thongchai Jaidee still going strong

So you woke up a little sore today, huh? The back isn’t what it once was while the knees are making more noise than a cricket in heat. Of course, no one said getting old was going be any fun. And all that talk about 50 being the new 30 is just that – talk. But not all geezers are rolling over. “Injuries are obviously an issue as you get older,” said India’s Jeev Milkha Singh, who turns 44 in December. “But my injuries are getting much better and that brings back the confidence. In this game the trust and the confidence comes back and you start putting the numbers on the board.”

The number Singh put on the board in third round was a 65, the second lowest round of the day to take him to 10 under and five shots back of the leader despite bogeying two of the first three holes. The lowest round of the day was 64 shot by Thailand’s 46-year-old Thongchai Jaidee, who sits two shots back of Singh at eight under. Saturday is typically moving day in tournament golf and nobody moved better than Asia’s Sunshine Boys in Fanling's scorching heat. “I am used to weather like this,” said Thongchai. “For me, I enjoy playing in the heat.” Not to mention the therapeutic benefits of the heat on older bones as well.

Singh turned pro back in 1993, one year before the guy he is tied with in fourth place, Matthew Fitzpatrick, was born. No doubt youth will be served, but for now at least it will have to wait another day. For Singh, the familiar haunts of Fanling have been a boon to his resurgent game. “It obviously helps to be playing on a course that I am familiar with and one that suits my game,” he said. “It’s not a bombers course, but it’s an old traditional golf course where you have to shape the ball.”

Watch Jeev Milkha Singh's father run at the 1960 Olympics

Any time shape trumps distance expect the leaderboard to be a little greyer around the temples, experience being the great equalizer. “Putting is the main key because the greens are not easy and can be difficult to read,” said Jaidee.

For Singh, the road back from injuries and spotty form has been an arduous affair.  “It is great to be back on the leaderboard,” he said. “It gives me a lot of confidence and putting myself in a great position. I didn’t have much faith in my driver lately but I got a new one in the bag and I am hitting the ball much better now. Obviously, golf is much easier when you get the ball in play off the tee.” The most successful Indian golfer in European tour history, the affable Singh has been getting the ball in play for well over twenty years now. A graduate of Abilene Christian University in Texas, Singh won the NCAA Division II Championship before turning pro.

The son of Milkha Singh, an Olympic sprinter known as the “Flying Sikh”, the younger Singh won the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2006 and 2007 and has also spent three years on the US PGA tour. These days the role of elder statesman falls naturally on him, particularly in regards to helping mentor fellow countryman Anirban Lahiri, who also shot a 65 in third round helping to place two Indian golfers in the top four of the Hong Kong Open.

For Thongchai, his rise to prominence is perhaps the most unlikely of stories. The former Thai army paratrooper, Thongchai did not start playing golf until he was 16 and did not turn professional until he was 30. However he quickly made up for lost time by winning the Asian Tour Order of Merit three times and currently holds the record for most career earnings having won over US$5 million on the Asian Tour. He is the first Thai to have played in all four major championships with his best finish being a tie for 32nd at the 2013 US Open. Little has changed in the former paratroopers swing or body over the years. His compact and wiry frame is the same as it was 15 years ago which helps to explain why he was the oldest player on the International team at the recent Presidents Cup in Korea.  “I like to stay fit and eat healthily,” he says. “I always find myself outside of golf to relax too and that gives me comfort and less pressure.”

Growing up relatively impoverished in Lop Buri, about 150 kilometeres north of Bangkok, he has established his own foundation to help bring golf and life lessons to the disadvantaged youth of Thailand. And though he looks like he could do some serious damage on the Seniors tour in four years time, he is no hurry to give way to the kids yet. “I have one more round to go tomorrow and I am looking to continue the momentum from my round today,” he said. “I think the field is going to go lower and shoot more under par in the final round. Justin Rose is in form and so are a couple of guys around him but this is a good thing for me. I really enjoy this.” And why shouldn’t he? There will be lot’s of time for him and Singh’s aches and pains to heal. For now, the Sunshine boys are still shining.