Wearing incorrect footwear may have preoccupied Jeev Milkha Singh last week as he descended on the driving range of Las Vegas's TPC Summerlin, ahead of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. But the brush with Timberlake, the host and celebrated singer, not only made the world No. 52 forget his woes momentarily; the meeting left him “wiser”.

“It was Wednesday, the day of the pro-am, and I was at the range when Justin came up to me, shook my hand and thanked me for turning up. Soon after, he approached every pro there and acknowledged their participation,” Jeev told HT.

“Putting up a tournament for charity and us should have been enough, but here he was seeking out pros and thanking them,” he said.

Jeev had disposed off his pair of soggy FootJoy after the T7 finish at the October 1-4 Turning Stone Resort Championship, which secured his PGA Tour card for next season. But he forgot to pack the right specifications for Vegas and by Friday, the right arch ligament was severely inflamed.

Jeev played on Saturday bearing intense pain and despite the discomfort, made it to the charity concert organised by Timberlake, a winner of six Grammy and two Emmy Awards.

A keen golfer with a handicap of three, Timberlake had invited five top singers like Snoop Dogg and they belted out hits for the select audience. “It was a gathering of achievers but it was humbling to see Justin come down the dais and escort the performers to the stage. Once there, he introduced them and expressed his gratitude,” said Jeev.

The evening was “humbling”. “You learn from such experiences and I'd want to do something like this too,” he said.

Jeev, however, was reluctant to talk about securing his card on the Tour. After competing on a Special Temporary Membership, the man is confident of having made the cut but prefers to stay mum citing “protocol”. “I've made enough money to be on board next year, but we golfers follow protocol. The PGA will issue a formal notification and that'll happen after the ongoing Fall Series.”