Russian Open: Gaganjeet Bhullar T26

An even par 72 by Gaganjeet Bhullar saw the Indian golfer settle for a tie in 26^th ahead of compatriot SSP Chowrasia who scored a 70 to finish in a tie for 38^th. David Horsey, in the lead for most of this week, suffered a double bogey at the 12^th, but an eagle at the 17^th helped force a playoff with Damien McGrane. The Englishman made par at the first playoff hole to edge his Irish opponent for victory at the M2M Russian Open.

Bhullar made a promising start to the tournament, when he planted himself inside the top ten with a 67 in the first round. But the man from Kapurthala could not produce another sub-70 round, an even par effort on Sunday saw him slip eight spots to finish in T26 with five other golfers.

Gaganjeet was one under through the first nine holes – three birdies offset by two bogeys. Any hopes of further climb up the leaderboard evaporated when he failed to make an impression on his way back to the clubhouse.

Chowrasia was lying 52^nd at the end of the third round. He has been making steady progress round after round – after starting with a disastrous 76 on Thursday. Another good performance – two under for the round, including an eagle at the par-5 8^th hole saw Chowrasia get inside the top 40.

McGrane made a spectacular 66, including seven birdies. But with the trophy on his putter at the 18^th, the Irishman succumbed to a bogey to offer a lifeline to the overnight leader Horsey. The Englishman was in dire straits, having slipped to two over for the round with a double bogey at the 12^th hole.

Another bogey at the 14^th left him staring at a 75, which was what his partner for the round had accomplished. Peter Whiteford, who shared the lead with Horsey saw it gone when he too made bogey at the 12^th.

Fortunately for Horsey, he seemed to regain composure just in time. A birdie at the 15^th and an eagle at the 17^th brought him back into the mix, forcing a playoff with McGrane. Par was enough on the first playoff hole, the 18^th, where McGrane made bogey to hand his third career title to Horsey.

Report by Anand Datla

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