Gaganjeet Bhullar sneaks to title

Gaganjeet Bhullar showed the reason why he is touted as the next big thing in Indian golf.

From virtually out of nowhere, the 22-year-old from Kapurthala pipped overnight leader Shamim Khan (69, 67, 67, 71) and Bangladesh’s Mohammad Siddikur Rahman (66, 71, 69, 68) by one stroke to clinch the Aircel PGTI Players Championship held at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club here.

Bhullar (66, 71, 70, 66) registered a total of seven-under 273 to notch up his eighth career win and second professional victory in the year 2010. This was also his sixth win on the PGTI tour. But what mattered was the way he scripted the comeback.

While the crowd flocked around the leader group consisting of Khan and second-placed Rahman, Bhullar quietly closed the gap to one stroke by the 15th hole. Khan surprisingly bogeyed three consecutive holes from the 15th to 17th to take his total down to five-under 275.

Bhullar sniffed an opportunity to topple Khan and made no mistake in doing so, birdying the 16th and 18th to take a two-stroke lead after the final hole.

Khan, tied along with Rahman, birdied the final hole but that didn’t prove enough. What made the win even more spectacular was the way Bhullar brought himself into contention. He recovered well after triple bogeying the sixth and seventh holes in the round three played on Thursday.

“This is a special win considering the fact that I was almost out of the race after round three. It will surely boost me ahead of a long international season,” Bhullar said.