Panchkula, Haryana, March 15, 2009: Gaganjeet Bhullar’s long wait for his first professional win finally came to an end when he posted a superb seven under 65 on the final day of the PGTI Players Championship presented by Panchkula Golf Club. The 20-year-old from Kapurthala won by a mammoth margin of seven strokes as he totaled 19 under 269 for the tournament. Bhullar has now become the youngest winner on the PGTI and has also climbed from 38th position to fourth on the PGTI Order of Merit.

Chandigarh’s Harendra Gupta and Vijay Kumar of Lucknow finished in tied second place with an identical total of 12 under 276. Harmeet Kahlon, another Chandigarh golfer, was fourth since his overall score read eight under 280.

Gaganjeet Bhullar (65, 73, 66, 65) registered his breakthrough win as a professional with a clinical 65 that was highlighted by eight birdies and a lone bogey. He began the day as the joint leader along with Vijay Kumar but soon raced ahead as a result of birdies on the first and third.

Bhullar never looked back after that and continued to consolidate on his brilliant start. The effect of a bogey on the fourth was negated by the birdie on the very next hole. Gaganjeet picked up the pace on the back nine, sinking birdies with ease on the 10th, 11th, 13th, 15th and 16th.

“I attribute my win to my good driving and mental toughness this week.
Today I had a fantastic round as was quite sharp in all departments of my game. My concentration also got better on the back nine as I came closer to victory.

“When I teed-off in the morning, I knew it would be a tough contest against the likes of experienced players such as Vijay Kumar and Harendra Gupta. However, I was aggressive from the very outset and that made all the difference. I am an aggressive player by nature and I stuck to that style of playing even today and did not try to do anything different,” said an elated Bhullar.

Bhullar, who had come close to winning on several occasions in the past, added, “It’s a special win because it’s my first since I turned professional in December 2006. I’ve waited a long time for this moment and there are no words to describe my joy. This victory has given me a lot of confidence for the coming events.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank my sponsors BILT, Mr. Gautam Thapar and Titleist. I also want to thank PGTI and Panchkula Golf Club for staging this wonderful tournament. The Panchkula Golf Club is easily one of the best courses in the northern part of the country and I really enjoyed playing here this week.”

Harendra Gupta (71, 69, 68, 68) came up with a fighting 68 to post a tied second finish. He produced five birdies against a lone bogey in the final round. He was two strokes behind Vijay Kumar after the 17th but he made a spectacular birdie on the final hole by converting a 20 feet putt from the edge of the green while Vijay missed a four-footer for par.
Vijay Kumar (72, 68, 64, 72), thus shared second place along with Gupta.

Gupta, who climbed from fourth to second on the PGTI Order of Merit, said, “My driving has improved of late and that’s what got me going this week. I have also started playing better shots with the lob wedge and sand wedge. Today I think I made a crucial putt on the 18th where I read the line to perfection.”

Vijay Kumar on the other hand, had an ordinary round after breaking the course record the previous day. In round four he made four birdies and four bogeys for a 72. He said, “I was on the edge of the green several times and kept missing up and down from there. But I think my game is on the upswing and will only get better.”

Harmeet Kahlon (71, 72, 68, 69) of Chandigarh secured fourth place since he was four strokes adrift of the joint runners-up. He totaled eight under 280.

Chandigarh golfers Sujjan Singh and Gurbaaz Mann shared fifth place at seven under 281 along with last year’s Order of Merit champion Mukesh Kumar and Bangladesh’s Mohd Siddikur Rahman.

Ashok Kumar was tied 14th at two under 286 while Gaurav Ghei totaled one over 289 to be placed tied 21st.

Mukesh Kumar continues to the lead the 2009 PGTI Order of Merit.