Maiden European Tour title for Bhullar
Golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar on Sunday claimed his maiden European Tour title with a brilliant chipin eagle on the 17th hole for a one- stroke win over a charging Anthony Quayle of Australia at the Fiji International at Natadola Bay.
Going into the final round, Bhullar withstood intense pressure as he holed a monstrous chip from outside the green for an eagle- three at the 17th to head into the last hole with a one- shot advantage over Quayle.
He parred the last hole to turn in a six- under 66 for a four- day total of 14- under 274, which earned him a win over Quayle, the latter breaking the course record with a nine- under 63 at the Natadola Bay Championship Golf Course. It was Bhullar’s first win on the European Tour, ninth Asian Tour title and 10th crown overall. He now becomes the most successful Indian player on the Asian Tour, overtaking the tally of eight tour wins by Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa.
He is the first Indian to win on the Australasia Tour and also became the fifth from the country to win on European Tour after Atwal, Jeev Milkha Singh ( 4), S. S. P. Chawrasia ( 4) and Anirban Lahiri ( 2).
He now has an exemption on European Tour, Australian Tour and Asian Tour till the end of 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively.
“I’ve been playing really well. It was just a matter of time and I’m glad it happened on this stage,” said Bhullar, who found the winning touch after 20 starts following his last title at the Macao Open last year.
“This kind of good form was definitely building up from last, I would say, two months, I had two good finishes. In fact, more than two, but two runner up finishes on the Asian Tour.”
Besides the eagle, Bhullar also sank five birdies against a lone bogey.
The key for Bhullar was the start. He began superbly with three birdies in the first four holes and kept his foot on the pedal. He dropped a shot on par- 4 seventh but got the back on par- 5 ninth to turn in 3- under 36.
South Africa’s Ernie Els carded 65 to finish at tied third along with Australian Ben Campbell, who brought home a card of six- under 66.
The other Indian in fray, Ajeetesh Sandhu scored 71 in the final round to end his campaign at the tied 43rd spot.