October 8, 2013. Following Indian debacle at the Taiwan Masters, Gaganjeet Bhullar has slipped a bit in the Asian Tour Order of Merit to No. 3 from second position, and Anirban Lahiri has slipped to No. 10 from his seventh position earlier. While, Shiv Kapur is out of top 10 and placed at 11th on Order of Merit.
However, Gaganjeet and Anirban have retained their eligibility for CIMB Classic, which will be held at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club from October 24 to 27. The consistent Kapur, who finished tied 49th at Taiwan Masters, would not be able to make it to CIMB Classic.
The $ 7 million CIMB classic, sanctioned by PGA Tour and Asian Tour, has stellar field consisting of 60 players from PGA Tour, top 10 players of Asian Tour Order of Merit and 8 sponsor’s exemption.
[highlight] However, Gaganjeet and Anirban have retained their eligibility for CIMB Classic, which will be held at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club from October 24 to 27 [/highlight]
The Kuala Lumpur event has importance for its result will affect Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), Ryder Cup Ranking and Official Fed Ex Cup points. The winner will have two-year exemption on PGA Tour and will get an opportunity in 2014 Masters at Augusta National.
The elite field of CIMB will see likes of Bubba Watson, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Brandt Snedeker and many other World Class golfers in action.
Winner of two titles on Asian Tour last season, Gaganjeet Bhullar could not live up to expectation and missed the cut before weekend game.
On the other hand, after winning third Asian Tour Title, SAIL-SBI Open, at home turf earlier this year, Anirban has not been up to the mark. His injuries have hampered his game. He had earlier said that he has been working on his mental composure through ancient Vipassana technique, which is yet to yield results for him.
Shiv Kapur, who had been on a marathon run has been left out of CIMB Challenge due to his ranking descend from ninth to 11th now.
India is yet to see a winner on the Asian Tour this season.
Reporting by Rajlakshmi Retesh
