By Rahul Banerji
Gaganjeet Bhullar lived up to his billing as a pre-tournament favourite with a four-stroke victory at the Rs 1 crore Nissan Chandigarh Open on Sunday.
As icing on the cake, the 12-time international winner also brought home a record winning score at the Chandigarh Golf Club with rounds of 67, 67, 65 and 68 for a tournament total of 21 under par 267.
It was Bhullar’s 25th career title overall and a 13th win on the PGTI after a gritty closing 4 under 68 saw him home to a commanding victory, the PGTI said.
Bhullar’s third win at the CGC saw him eclipse the standing best 72-hole total of 20-under 268 by Ajeetesh Sandhu and Rashid Khan at the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational in 2019.
Sandhu went on to win that event in a playoff.
Angad Cheema (66-67-66-72), another Chandigarh-based pro who was the overnight joint leader along with Bhullar finished second on 17-under 271.
On point
Bhullar’s ball-striking was on point once again as he found all fairways except one in the final round. Coupled with good wedge play and a long conversion on hole 15 earned him seven birdies on Saturday at the expense of three bogeys.
The 35-year-old, also a winner on the DP World Tour, established a three-shot lead by the 11th hole and never looked back thereafter.
Bhullar, who took home a cheque worth Rs. 15 lakh said, “I knew about the 72-hole course record being within my grasp but the target in my mind was 25-under for the week.
“The way I was playing, I thought I could achieve it. I came close and had those few putts fallen on the back nine, it was well within my reach.
“Nonetheless, 21-under is a great score. I could not start off well this year, so I needed a really solid week here at home to give me a boost for the rest of the season. A win in the first half of the year is just what I was looking for.
Critical factor
“The key was hitting most of the fairways this week. I missed just one fairway today and about four to five through the week.”
Cheema, on the other hand, missed fairways regularly on Saturday and as a result could not mount a challenge for the title, carding a 72 that featured two birdies and two bogeys.
The runner-up finish earned Cheema Rs. 10 lakh and lifted him from sixth to fourth place in the TATA Steel PGTI Rankings.
Mysore’s Yashas Chandra (72) was third on 15-under 273 and Abhinav Lohan (68) of Faridabad finished a further shot back in fourth place.
Karandeep Kochhar (68) was the third Chandigarh player to finish inside the top-10 as he took tied fifth place on 13-under 275.
Indian golfing great Jeev Milkha Singh finished tied 42nd on 1-under 287.
Top finishers
267: Gaganjeet Bhullar (67-67-65-68)
271: Angad Cheema (66-67-66-72)
273: Yashas Chandra (67-66-68-72)
274: Abhinav Lohan (72-67-67-68)
275: Karandeep Kochhar, Michele Ortolani, Amardeep Malik, Khalin Joshi, Rahil Gangjee, Sunhit Bishnoi.
Also read: Bhullar, Cheema pull ahead on day three in Chandigarh Open
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