Bhullar lifts Fiji title, gets back European Tour card
NEW DELHI: Gaganjeet Bhullar almost did not win the Fiji International at the Natadola Bay Championship Golf Course on Sunday; but he did, and that for him stems from experience. “Winning comes from learning,” he said after sealing his card on the European Tour after a gap, in the $970,000 event co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour.
“I’ve learnt from incidents, when in contention but could not seal the deal.” The reference was to the distant past, but even closer to time the 30-year old has picked up many a lesson. Five top-10s this season on the Asian Tour, including two runner-up finishes, taught him to stay steady.
Warding off the challenge from Australian Anthony Quayle, who broke the course record with a 63 on the final day, was tough alright, but Bhullar has been in this spot many times. An eagle on the 17th gave him a one-shot lead and par on the final hole heralded his ninth Asian Tour win, the most for an Indian golfer.
Like he said after the win in Macao last year, the number is yet to sink in. What has is that he’s proved himself once again after a wrist injury some years back. The pain of not making it to the European or PGA Tour by now lingers but he doesn’t blame the injury.
“If I’m good, I’ll prove myself. It may have taken time, but it happened,” he said on progressing to a bigger tour. That’s a result of “better execution” but the outlook remains the same. “Apart from hitting the golf ball better, I still feel as if I turned professional (in 2006) just the other day. Maybe, realisation will set in (of being an achiever) 10 years down,” said Bhullar.
A trait he’s acutely aware of is of being a fighter. “All athletes have an inherent stubbornness, and when I come under the gun (like on Sunday), I give it my all.” But he has had to work on it without expecting a payoff every time he is put to test. “If it works out well and good, otherwise there’s another day.”
A lot goes into a successful week like the frame of mind, especially after a bad shot, but above all it is giving cent percent into every shot. “It’s the attitude that determines how one carries on,” he said.
Bhullar has kept his date with the European Tour as that was on the to-do list for 2018, but the PGA Tour is his final destination. That was the impression after winning on the European Challenge Tour in 2011 and finishing a close second on the main tour’s Avantha Masters two years down.
Playing in America could well be in the offing as golf’s a funny game. “Things can change in a week or two, so let’s see.”