Natadola Bay (Fiji): India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar Sunday grabbed his maiden European Tour title with a brilliant chip-in eagle on the 17th hole for a one-stroke win over a charging Anthony Quayle of Australia at the Fiji International here.
Going into the final round, Bhullar withstood intense pressure as he holed a monstrous chip from outside the green for an eagle-three at the 17th to head into the last hole with a one-shot advantage over Quayle.
He calmly parred the last hole to turn in a six-under 66 for a four-day total of 14-under 274, which earned him a win over Quayle, who broke the course record with a nine-under 63 at the Natadola Bay Championship Golf Course. Besides the eagle, Bhullar also sank five birdies against a lone bogey.
The key for Bhullar was the start. He started superbly with three birdies in the first four holes and kept his foot on the pedal. He dropped a shot on Par-4 seventh but got the back on Par-5 ninth to turn in 3-under 36.
He made a crucial par save on 10th with a putt from more than 20 feet and then birdied Par-3 13th. Bhullar was 12-under when he came to the Par-5 17th tee. At that stage the scoreboard showed Quayle as 10-under for the day and at 14-under for the tournament.
Quayle narrowly missed a birdie chance on 18th, while Bhullar was still off the green with his second. He did have a similar chance for a chip in the second round.
I’ve been playing really well. It was just a matter of time and I’m glad it happened on this stage
Gaganjeet Bhullar
In the meantime, a mistake on the scoreboard had also been realised. It transpired that the scoreboard had wrongly credited Quayle with a birdie on Par-5 ninth, when it was actually a par. So, his card when he turned it in was actually 9-under and his total was 13-under.
The chip-in eagle took Bhullar from 12-under to 14-under and past Quayle, who was waiting for the finish. Bhullar calmly landed his second shot on 18th to 10 feet and then smartly rolled it to a tap-in for par and a one-shot win.
South Africa’s four-time Major Championship winner Ernie Els carded 65 to finish at tied third along with Australian Ben Campbell, who brought home a card of six-under 66.
- It was Bhullar’s ninth Asian Tour title and 10th crown overall
- He now becomes the most successful Indian player on Asian Tour, overtaking the tally of eight tour wins by Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa
- He is the first Indian to win on Australasia Tour and also became the fifth from the country to win on European Tour after Atwal, Jeev Milkha Singh (4), SSP Chawrasia (4) and Anirban Lahiri (2)