Jakarta: Gaganjeet Bhullar earned yet another top five finish, at the USD 5,00,000 Bank BRI Indonesia Open golf tournament here Sunday, but a title win continued to elude the Indian. The 30-year-old, who has time and again put himself in contention in the last few tournaments, did so yet again.
However, in the end despite a fourth successive round in the 60s, he ended three shots behind Justin Harding of South Africa. Harding carded a one-under-par 71 to win his maiden Asian Tour title. After a tied second place finish in Korea and then sole second in the Queens Cup and tied 11th in Sarawak, Bhullar put up.
Compatriot Udayan Mane (70) was tied sixth and Khalin Joshi (71) was tied 13th.
Bhullar, who has won before in Indonesia in 2013 and 2016, began strongly with three birdies in the first six holes, but dropped a shot on eighth. On the back nine he played aggressively.
“It was a solid round of golf. I made a few good birdies. Most of them were tricky putts. I was looking at the leaderboard and motivating myself to get up there. For the final few holes, I was particularly aggressive because I was hitting the ball well,” Bhullar stated at the end of the day’s play.
Chance wasted
Arjun Atwal frittered away his good work Saturday in the first 10 holes, making three bogeys on the back nine and finishing the third round at one-under 70 at the John Deere Classic golf tournament at Silvis in the US. At four-under 209, he was tied 62nd.
Atwal started from the 10th and had three birdies in a row from 14th to 16th and a fourth on the first when he turned for his second nine. But bogeys on the third, fourth and seventh took away much of those gains.