Fiji, 04-08-2018
Bhullar rises to the top in Fiji, leads the field by one as he stares at his maiden European Tour title and a record ninth Asian Tour triumph
India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar, an eight-time Asian Tour winner, is ready to draw on his winning experience on Tour to power himself towards another victory as he snatched the third round lead with a three-under-par 69 at the Fiji International presented by Fiji Airways on Saturday.
The 30-year-old has won under blustery conditions before, most notably in Macau and he believes he can replicate that similar winning form as he holds a one-shot advantage over the Australian quartet of Jake McLeon, Jarryd Felton, Terry Pilkadaris and Andrew Dodt with his three-day total of eight-under-par 208.
Gaganjeet (70-69-69), standing on the threshold of his first European Tour triumph, moved up four spots on Saturday thanks to his four birdies that came at the cost of a lone bogey. Bhullar is now also on the cusp of creating an Indian record of nine Asian Tour wins.
Bhullar has notched five top-10s in the current Asian Tour season to be 10th on the money list. Gaganjeet came close to achieving his ninth win in Asia earlier this year, first at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open in May and then at the Queen's Cup last month. He finished runner-up on both occasions.
Bhullar said, “I had a great start to the day. I started with two good birdies and then I kept on hitting the ball really well and the ball was in play throughout the round. I think today my striking was really, really good. Despite the windy conditions, I kept the ball in play and actually holed a lot of really tricky putts.
“Looking at the scores, it wasn't an easy round of golf. Wind was howling, it was gusty, especially on the back nine. Numbers 10, 11 and 12, these holes were playing straight into the wind, they were really tough. But yeah, I'm glad I played well today and it's good to be back in contention.
“It's never easy to play in these kind of situations, but I remember the last tournament I won was in Macau and it was really, really windy there. So of course I do have a lot of positive memories playing in this kind of a situation. Golf is an individual game. You just have to stick to your own routine and the process. I think that's going to be my game plan tomorrow.”
Ajeetesh Sandhu, the only other Indian to make the cut, was tied 42nd at three-over-219.
Source: Asian Tour
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