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September 20th 2009, Gurgaon: Gaganjeet Bhullar’s solid 68 on the final day of the DLF Masters 2009 fetched him his fifth title of the 2009 Aircel-PGTI season. Bhullar’s tournament total of 15 under 273 helped him record a comprehensive five-stroke win on Sunday. The professional from Kapurthala also set a record of sorts by winning a title from each of his last five starts on the Aircel-PGTI. Gaganjeet took home the winner’s cheque of Rs. 12,93,200 to overtake Mukesh Kumar and become the leader on the Aircel-PGTI Order of Merit.

Anirban Lahiri’s 66, the best round of the day, helped him secure second place as he totaled 10 under 278 for the tournament. Jyoti Randhawa’s winning streak on the Aircel-PGTI came to an end since he ended the tournament in tied fourth place at eight under 280. Randhawa had five wins from five starts on the Aircel-PGTI prior to the DLF Masters 2009.

Gaganjeet Bhullar (68, 68, 69, 68) proved his mettle once again by upstaging the likes of defending champion Jyoti Randhawa on the final day. Even though Gaganjeet suffered a setback when he bogeyed the second, some good driving and iron-play earned him birdies on the sixth, seventh and ninth. As it turned out, he birdied the par four seventh in all four rounds. He then went on to add two more birdies to his card with a couple of good approach shots on the 13th and 14th. Bhullar made pars on the last four holes to register a comfortable win.

“I would rate this victory as one of my best till now since I managed to beat Jyoti Randhawa at his home course. It’s turning out to be a great year for me. I was not able to post good scores on the final day in previous seasons but now I have succeeded in sorting out that problem. I have also been able to get over the technical problem of hooking the ball to the left with my tee shots,” said an elated Bhullar.

He added, “The goal was to finish with a score of 16 under and I’m quite happy to have got really close to it. I converted some tough putts today, especially a 15-footer for birdie on the ninth. I also hit it to within seven feet for birdies on the seventh, 13th and 14th. I knew I had sealed it when I looked at the scoreboard on the 12th.”

Anirban Lahiri (71, 70, 71, 66) had a bogey-bogey start but showed great resolve by firing four birdies and an eagle over the next seven holes thanks to some top-class putting. Lahiri went on to make birdie-bogey on the 12th and 13th and finally closed the round on a high with birdies on the last two holes. The trees hampered his second shot on the 18th, but he made an excellent recovery with a low shot and then sank a birdie from 20 feet.

Lahiri said, “This was definitely my best round at this course and I’m very pleased with my second place finish. The best aspect of my game today was my putting. I started badly with bogeys on the first two holes but then pulled it back with an eagle and four birdies over the next seven holes. The fact that I was playing alongside my room-mate and close friend Rahil Gangjee, helped me settle down after the ordinary start.”

Lahiri added, “The 25 feet putt for birdie on the fifth gave me a lot of confidence. I then converted a 12-footer for eagle on the sixth and sank one from 15 feet for another birdie on the seventh.”

Ashok Kumar’s (69, 70, 71, 69) fired five birdies and two bogeys in round four to finish third at nine under 279.

Jyoti Randhawa (71, 68, 67, 74), the 2007 and 2008 DLF Masters champion, slipped to tied fourth on the final day as a result of a two over 74 in round four. He had three bogeys and a lone birdie on Sunday. Randhawa and Shamim Khan (73, 66, 69, 72) shared fourth place with identical totals of eight under 280.

Randhawa said, “I was very inconsistent today and did not putt well. I felt I was not as focused as I should have been. Gaganjeet played some flawless golf. He’s truly a champion in the making.”

SSP Chowrasia came in tied seventh at four under 284 while Shiv Kapur was tied 10th at two under 286.

In the team championship, the team of Anirban Lahiri, Rahil Gangjee and amateur Harinder Sikka won the competition with a net score of 13 under 131. The team of Ashok Kumar, Toran Bikram Shahi and amateur Abhinav Lohan finished second with a net score of 11 under 133.

Courtesy: Nikhil Kalaan