INQUIRER Sports

GURGAON, India -- Triple major winner Vijay Singh on Tuesday hailed the meteoric rise of Asian golf, saying the region was now brimming with talented players.

The self-taught Fijian emerged from the Asian circuit of the 1980s to headline this week's $2.5-million Johnnie Walker Classic along with world number five Adam Scott.

"It's different now. The quality of play has improved so much. There are so many good Asian players," Singh said.

"It's hard to remember the last time they had this many good players. It's good to see. It's nice to see that the locals are coming through."

He added that it was important for India, Asia's newest golfing hotspot, to host an event of the Classic's stature.

"They need an event like this just to have strong players coming here and see European Tour players in competition," Singh said.

"It's a prestigious event, it's an event that's been going on for a long time now. It's one of the premier events."

The tri-sanctioned Classic, whose past champions include Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Ernie Els and Nick Faldo, is only India's second European Tour event following this month's Indian Masters.

Local favorites Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa lead the Asian charge along with former caddie S.S.P. Chowrasia, whose rags-to-riches Indian Masters win made him the country's newest hero.