Consistent Bhullar wins title by 2 shots

Jamshedpur, December 20

Gaganjeet Bhullar overcame a bumpy ride for a hard-fought 4-under 68 to win his first PGTI trophy in nine years on the final day of the TATA Steel Tour Championship here today.

Bhullar totalled an outstanding 24-under 264 for the week, collecting his 10th title on the PGTI.

The final round was an absorbing contest as Kapurthala’s Bhullar, Bengaluru’s S Chikkarangappa and Khalin Joshi, Kolkata’s SSP Chawrasia and Noida’s Amardeep Malik were all in the lead or joint lead at different stages.

Chikkarangappa ended the week as the runner-up after his fourth round of 68 moved his total to 22-under 266. His second place finish lifted him from 11th to second position in the PGTI Order of Merit.

Khalin Joshi (69) finished third at 21-under 267. Kolkata’s Rahil Gangjee, who fired the day’s best score of 67, took tied-fourth place at 20-under 268 along with SSP Chawrasia (72). Amardeep Malik (73), the joint third round leader along with Bhullar and Chawrasia, closed the week in sixth place at 19-under 269.

“Honestly, I was not at all expecting to win this week. This week the first goal for me was to make the cut. But I kept gaining momentum with each passing round and played four solid rounds where my putting was very consistent,” said Bhullar.

Anirban Lahiri (68) took 11th place at 14-under. Chandigarh’s Karandeep Kochhar (72), who continues to lead the PGTI Order of Merit, finished 14th at 12-under. Shiv Kapur (69) was tied-16th at 10-under, while Jyoti Randhawa (81) was tied-30th at 5-under. — PTI