Bhullar keeps the faith through pain

Injuries are known to change perception towards life and sport. Inching closer to a decade as a professional, Gaganjeet Bhullar felt searing pain for the first time during practice a year back, and he wasn’t prepared. “You don’t know when it (injury) will strike,” he said.

The timing was wrong as he was looking to bounce back after a strong start on the European Tour. He doesn’t feel the setback changed his outlook. “I’m too young to worry about the fallout,” said the 27-year-old. The forearm in a cast for a month, and away from golf for over three months, the whispers grew louder. The doughty lad from Kapurthala couldn’t care less.

“I’m a tough nut, my mentors say a role in the armed forces would have suited me better,” he said. “My faith (in Sikhism) is intact, and that’s all I care.” While tongues wagged on the course and beyond, Bhullar got active on Twitter and watched live golf action at home.

The “feel” that saw him win five times on the Asian Tour started to come back towards the end of last season, when he was a shot off the lead in the Dubai Open, eventually finishing 11th. The grade 2 ligament tear had healed, but not taking a chance, he wore the blue protective band on the right wrist. It came off in March, but the concern remains. “If the pain comes back, that’ll mean some tweaking,” he said on the reluctance to carry out changes.

The week of the Panasonic Open sees him arrive on the back of two strong finishes in Macao and Hong Kong. As is the case at the Delhi Golf Club, the driver’s out of the bag given that “ball striking will be the key” on the tight fairways. Of equal importance will be putting as the injury affected his short game.