Gaganjeet Bhullar defends Indonesia

Feature by Anand Datla

Jakarta, December 2: When the golfers tee off on Thursday at the Damai Indah Golf in Indonesia, one man will be particularly excited about feeling the thunder of his club. Gaganjeet Bhullar has been laid low since tearing a ligament in his left wrist and in his return to the course, will seek to defend a title.

Any title defense is a mighty challenge, this one shall be doubly so for the 26 year old Indian.   For one, the presence of Padraig Harrington and Scott Hend will present a formidable challenge to the efforts of Bhullar. And then he has to deal with being in a competitive event for the first time since September. The Indonesia Open promises to pose a real test for the Indian golfer. After being on the sidelines for nearly two months, Bhullar will look to pocket a healthy portion of the US$750,000 on offer this week at the Asian Tour event.

“It was a frustrating time sitting at home and doing nothing. I did a lot of physiotherapy and acupressure therapy to recover. Now I can hit my driver and three wood without any restrictions,” said Bhullar, who has fond memories in Indonesia. After all, this was where he had won his maiden Asian Tour tournament in 2009.

“The feeling is quite different because I’m one of those guys who loves to play in a lot of tournaments. I think the last two years I’ve played close to 30 or 35 tournaments a year. It is quite a challenging time for me but Indonesia is close to my heart. I had a lot of good finishes here I’m looking forward to play some good golf again,” added Bhullar.

With Indian golf in the news for all the right reasons since Anirban Lahiri opened the floodgates by winning the Macau Open a few weeks ago, Bhullar will look to continue the good run of his compatriots over these past few weeks.

But he will have stiff competition. One of the big names hunting down the Indian will Harrington. “The key for me is to get my head in the right place this week. My putting has come around so I have to play more golf now to give myself an opportunity. I’ll be more focussed on my mental game more than anything else this week,” said the 43-year-old Irishman.

Harrington was also full of respect for the pace of development of the game in Asia. “One of the most interesting things coming over to the Asian Tour is how it has developed since 1997. When I first came out to Asia, the really good players tend to come from a caddy background with unique golf swings,” said Harrington.   “The young Asian players that I see now are coached and they have beautiful golf swings and strike the ball really well. I think if you merge a really good ball striker and someone with a strong and good character, you will have a world champion who will win many Major tournaments,” Harrington explained.