Incheon (Korea): India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar overcame a five-shot overnight deficit with a sublime final round of four-under-67 to record his sixth Asian Tour triumph at the Shinhan Donghae Open here Sunday.
Bhullar (68-66-68-67), who was tied fourth at the end of round three Saturday, ended up with a tournament total of 15-under-269 to register a one-shot victory over Zimbabwean Scott Vincent and local lad Taewoo Kim of South Korea at the USD 1 million event.
Bhullar, who last won on the Asian Tour in 2013, had hit a rough patch over the last two seasons due to a wrist injury that he suffered in 2014. But the 28-year-old from Kapurthala announced his return into the top league of Asian golf with a clinical performance that handed him his seventh international title.
Bhullar began the day on a positive note with a birdie on the second. However, a bogey on the fourth brought him back to level-par for the day. He then gathered momentum with consecutive birdies on the sixth and seventh, the latter being a 15-feet conversion.
Bhullar stepped on the accelerator with birdies on the 10th, 12th, 13th and 14th holes. The strapping six-footer was in prime putting form as he sank a 30-footer on the 10th and two more putts from 12 to 15 feet on the 13th and 14th. He unleashed a terrific tee shot on the par-3 12th which set up a three-feet birdie conversion.
Bhullar had a momentary scare when he bogeyed the 16th and 17th but a par on the closing 18th turned out to be good enough to seal the title as Vincent couldn’t birdie the last to take the match into a playoff even as it drizzled at the Bears Best Cheongna Golf Club.
Bhullar became the second Indian to win the Shinhan Donghae Open after Jeev Milkha Singh who won it back in 1994. Bhullar jumped from 61st place to 10th position in the Asian Tour Order of Merit. He is also likely to make major gains in the world rankings where he is currently placed 674th. The rankings will be updated Monday.
Among the other Indians, Khalin Joshi (68-69-69-71) fired a final round of even-par-71 to grab a share of 15th place at seven-under-277 while Jyoti Randhawa (71-71-71-71) who shot four scores of even-par-71, ended tied 54th with a total of even-par-284.
Press Trust of India
