Indonesian Open:Bhullar’s the winner

December 2, 2013: Gaganjeet Bhullar won the Indonesia Open and regained his confidence after a lull period of past few months. He shot a flawless three-under-par 68 to win his first Asian Tour title in 2013 by three shots on Sunday.

The 25-year-old opened with 10 straight pars but displayed a gutsy back nine performance highlighted by three birdies to complete a sensational wire-to-wire triumph at the US$750,000 Asian Tour event.

Malaysian youngster Nicholas Fung contended for the title before finishing tied second on 66 with Chapchai Nirat of Thailand, who shot two eagles today, at the Pantai Indah Kapuk Course at Damai Indah Golf.

[highlight] Winning takes a lot of patience. I’m glad I stayed patient and showed a lot of confidence [/highlight]

Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh ended his campaign with a 67 in solo fourth on 272 while Jyoti Randhawa (69) of India was a further shot back. Young Thai Jazz Janewattananond, the co-leader at the start of the day, returned with a disappointing 74 to finish tied sixth, but the 18-year-old earned plaudits by the Asian Tour stars for his battling performance.

At the end of 18 holes, it was Bhullar who was the last man standing. He got off to a slow start but picked up pace when the field, which included a fast charging Siddikur, Jazz and Fung, edged closer and threatened to overtake him.

The turning point came after a birdie on 11th, which led to two more birdies on holes 13 and 14. Though weather at one point of time came to play spoilsport but it changed mood after an hour and the game could restart. And Bhullar took no time to return with four pars to clinch his fifth Asian Tour title.

“I gave myself a lot of opportunities in the first nine holes but I misjudged my yardages on a few holes. Apart from that, there was no difference in my strategy. Winning takes a lot of patience. I’m glad I stayed patient and showed a lot of confidence.

“It was kind of difficult for me when play was suspended. I find it hard to go back to my momentum. But I guess these kind of scenarios are common in Asia. We just have to accept it as it is,” said Bhullar, who won US$135,000.

The victory was also a welcome return to form for the Indian who struggled in the last six months and finished last at the World Cup of Golf in Australia last week.

The bespectacled Fung turned in 32 to raise his hopes of winning his first Asian Tour title before running out of holes. The 23-year-old settled for tied second, which is his best Asian Tour result since finishing tied fifth in Manila two weeks ago.