Abu Dhabi: India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar, playing in his first season as a full member of the European tour, is already creating waves.
The 25-year-old is oozing with confidence after he joined the crème-de la-crème at the top of the leaderboard at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship on Saturday with a bogey-free round of 66 to go 10-under-par at the end of the third round.
“That feels really nice. Ever since I arrived here, I’ve been striking the ball really good. I knew that I could go low [in terms of score] and thankfully today was one of my lucky days,” said an overjoyed Bhullar, adding: “I had a lot of good breaks, putted really well and gave myself a lot of opportunities of making the birdies. I guess at the end of the day I’m quite happy with 66.”
A winner of India’s prestigious Arjuna Award, Bhullar could have gone 11-under if his 20-feet birdie putt on the final hole had not agonisingly lipped out of the hole.
“I was a little disappointed to miss that final putt. I drove the ball right in the middle [of the green], it was about 330 yards. That drive, on this tour you have to make the birdie. Hopeful, I won’t make such mistakes and be there at the top of the leaderboard,” added Bhullar, whose 2013 season had started on a high, with him finishing runner-up at the Avantha Masters to earn him prize money of $258,700.
He shot 20-under 268, but lost to South African Thomas Aiken by three strokes. Later in December, he won his fifth Asian Tour title with victory at the Indonesia Open.
Bhullar said he would not be overawed with the situation that he is in, as he tees off with stalwarts Phil Mickelson and Craig Lee on Sunday.
“I have been playing with some big names such as Rickie Fowler, Jason Dufner and Sergio Garcia, the list goes on and on. At the end of the day, it is just between the ears. If you are mentally ready to move on to the next level, then I think it is the right level.”
Bhullar went on to reveal that being in the company of other experienced Indians on tour such as Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa, has also helped.
“I’ve played a lot of practice rounds together with Jeev, Arjun Atwal and Randhawa in the past and that is really helping. These guys are very close and we spend lot of time on and off the golf course. I have picked a lot of brains from all three,” said Bhullar, who went on to add that he would keep it simple on the final day.
“I have just finished this round and have not thought about tomorrow. I don’t want to jump the ladder. I will take one shot at a time and go with the flow.”
