He came, he saw, he conquered! India's Gaganjeet Bhullar believes in scripting success stories and his win at the Macao Open bears testimony to the fact.

 

And as Bhullar headed toward the final green to a loud ovation from the packed grandstands, the message was loud and clear: Indian golfers are taking the Golf world by storm and how!

 

 

                                           Gaganjeet Bhullar won the first Macao Open title in 2012

 

Bhullar held his nerve to complete a wire-to-wire victory and lift his eighth Asian Tour title at the Macau Open on Sunday.

 

Suttijet Kooratanapisan (68) and Prom Meesawat (70) were the best Thais after both finished in a tie for ninth with Jbe Kruger (70) of South Africa on 281. Defending champion Pavit Tangkamolprasert was tied 12th.

Bhullar had seen his four-shot lead reduced to one in round three but on Sunday, he drained five birdies on the front nine and won by three shots despite a nerve-jangling double bogey on 16. The 29-year-old fired rounds of 64, 65, 74 and 68 for an aggregate score of 13-under 271, lifting his first Asian Tour trophy of the year.

 

Bhullar took home a winner’s prize purse of US$90,000 and became only the third player after Australian Scott Hend (2013 and 2015) and Zhang Lian-wei of China (2001-2002) to win the storied event twice since the tournament was inaugurated in 1998.
 
Filipino ace Angelo Que battled to a 69 to share second place with Ajeetesh Sandhu of India, who posted a 70, at the US$500,000 Asian Tour event. Chinese Taipei’s Hung Chien-yao took fourth place following a 72 for a 276 total.
 
India’s Rashid Khan returned with the day’s low round of 64 to grab a share of fifth place on a 278 total alongside American Johannes Veerman, who closed with a 70 in the Macao showpiece.

 

 

                      Bhullar has carved a niche of his own in the global Golf circuit

 

But Bhullar was at a loss to explain why it is taking so long to go to the next level. “I don’t know where I’m lacking or falling behind. All I know is I will keep working until I reach the PGA Tour. That is my goal and I’ve been saying this since 2009 when my first victory came.

“My next goal is to win a co-sanctioned event with the European Tour. I expect to perform well in big events in the coming years,” said Bhullar, who is ranked 237th in the world, the second highest Indian behind Anirban Lahiri (65).

 

Bhullar's fellow Indian Ajeetesh Sandhu and Filipino Angelo Que shared second place at par-71 Macau Golf and Country Club, while Taiwan's Hung Chien-Yao was alone in fourth.

 

Sandhu was gunning for his third title in a row after he claimed his maiden Asian tour victory in Taiwan this month and triumphed on the Japan Challenge Tour a week later.

 

 

                                                     Sandhu is the new poster boy of India's Golf circuit

 

 

He said, "I would have taken this result at the start of the week. Gaganjeet Bhullar played really today so I’m happy with the result. It has been a good week and it was especially nice to play in the last group in the last two days. It was tense but I’m happy with the way it went. I started off pretty well but missed a few chances in the middle of the round. That pretty much threw me off the game. I was playing catch-up after that but all in all a good round and week. I’m playing really well and I want to continue what I’m doing."

 

Bhullar, the 2012 champion in Macau, bogeyed his opening hole on Sunday before he stormed ahead with birdies on two, three, four, seven and nine to turn in 31.

 

He also birdied 13 but dropped a shot on the next and picked up his double on 16, before finishing in style with his sixth birdie of the day in front of the galleries on 18.

 

Did you know?

 

• Bhullar claimed a wire-to-wire victory for the third time in his career and second time at the Macao Open. He won the 2012 Macao Open and 2013 Indonesia Open after leading from start to finish.
• Bhullar is the first player to win eight titles on the Asian Tour before turning 30. He is also the youngest player to achieve the feat on the Asian Tour.
• With this victory, Bhullar holds the same number of Asian Tour wins with countrymen Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa. They are the only three Indian players with the most number of wins on the region’s premier Tour.
• Thai legend Thaworn Wiratchant holds the record with 18 victories. Thongchai Jaidee and Prayad Marksaeng sit in second and third places with 13 and 10 wins respectively. England’s Lee Westwood and Australian Scott Hend both recorded nine Asian Tour titles in total.
• Bhullar is the fourth Indian, after S.S.P. Chawrasia, Shiv Kapur and Ajeetesh Sandhu, to win on the Asian Tour this season.
• Bhullar joins Australian Scott Hend and China’s Zhang Lian-wei as two-time winners of the storied Macao Open.
• Que and Sandhu both marked their best result at the Macao Open with their joint runner-up finishes.
• Que, a three-time winner, also marked his best result on the Asian Tour this year.
• Sandhu claimed his breakthrough Asian Tour victory at the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship in Chinese Taipei two weeks ago. He went on to secure a play-off win on the Japan Challenge Tour last week.

 

Day 1: Defending champion Pavit tied 47th at the Macao Open

Day 2: India's Dazzling Bhullar leads, signals his strong intentions of winning the Macao Open

Day 3: Bhullar wields power to continue his lead at the Macao Open