From a Correspondent
Jakarta: Gaganjeet Bhullar produced a virtuoso performance on Sunday to win the $1.5 million BNI Indonesian Masters for his fifth title on Indonesian soil and the fourth wire-to-wire win of his career on the Asian Tour.
The 35-year-old from Amritsar eagled the par-five 18th at Royale Jakarta Golf Club for a closing 4-under-par 67 to finish on 24-under, five shots ahead of second-placed Karandeep Kochhar, also from India.
New Zealand’s Ben Campbell, winner of the Hong Kong Open last Sunday, and Spaniard David Puig shot 65 and 66 respectively to claim third place, six back of Bhullar in the final event of the season on the elevated International Series.
Bhullar takes home this trophy for the first time and it will proudly sit alongside three Indonesian Open wins and one Indonesia President Invitational title.
It was the 11th win of his career on the Asian Tour – the most by an Indian, with Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa next best with eight titles.
And it was also his first victory since winning the Mandiri Indonesia Open in August of last year.
Veer Ahlawat was the third Indian in the top 10, finishing seventh on 14 under 270 alongside LIV Golf star Patrick Reed.
Five places behind was Chikkarangappa S. on 12 under 272 while Rashid Khan took a share of 36th place on 8 under 276.
Rocky progress
Bhullar started the day with a comfortable seven-shot lead and was in complete control before a couple of mistakes over the closing stages kept the large gallery guessing.
On the par-three 15th he shocked everyone when he found water with his tee shot, but after taking a drop he played a superb third to six feet and holed the putt for bogey.
His lead was cut to three from Kochhar and Puig at that point and when the leader left his second shot short in a tricky lie on the grassy slope of a greenside bunker on the par-four 16th it looked as if the gap would be closed further.
However, Bhullar made arguably the shot of the tournament when he holed out for an unlikely birdie to restore his lead to four.
A closing eagle on 18 was set up by a beautifully-struck fairway wood to 20 feet.
“It wasn’t that easy. This is my fourth Asian Tour wire-to-wire,” said Bhullar, who showed incredible mental fortitude to win having led the event since his opening round 63.
“And this was a victory with a seven-shot lead and I just kept telling myself I have done that in the past and I am ready to do that this week.
“Today I played pretty well actually. I struggled a bit in the middle of the round, there was a stretch when I was trying my level best but I was not making the birdies.
Turnaround
“But the chip in on number 16 turned around everything. And of course, the eagle on the last was the icing on the cake.”
Bhullar’s other wire-to-wire wins came in the Macao Open in 2012 and 2017 and at the 2013 Indonesia Open.
“Overall, I think it is a great sense of achievement for myself and I am really proud of myself,” added Bhullar, who revealed today that his grandma was born in Indonesia.
“I have been doing meditation since I was 14 years old, and I think this is my 17th year on Tour. I learned over the years how to deal with the pressure and especially the conditions and the situation I was in the last three rounds.
“So, I think the past experience has really helped me.”
Added bonus
An added bonus is that victory catapulted him from 46th place on the International Series Order of Merit to eighth, and it’s only those from second to eight who are fast-tracked into the second round of the LIV Golf Promotions event in three weeks’ time in Abu Dhabi.
The top three finishers there will earn places on next year’s LIV Golf League.
Kochhar will also be competing in Abu Dhabi and on Sunday celebrated his best finish on the Asian Tour.
He said: “Obviously a very good day from start to finish. I told myself that the way I was hitting the ball the last few days I’m going to have a lot of opportunities, so it was all about being patient.
“And I think I did that very well today. I was patient throughout, gave myself opportunities and made some good putts down the stretch as well.
“A couple of good two putts in the end, which I think kind of kept the momentum going. So yeah, overall really pleased and been looking forward to a week off.”
Korean Kyongjun Moon fired a 65 and finished in outright fifth, seven behind the champion. (courtesy asiantour.com)
Also read: HK Open title for Campbell as Ogletree tops Int’l Series rankings
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