Asian Tour: Gaganjeet Bhullar wins Indonesia Open by three
India's Gaganjeet Bhullar secured his first Asian Tour title of 2013 with a wire-to-wire win in the Indonesia Open.
Last Updated: 01/12/13 1:43pm
Bhullar carded a closing three-under 68 to win the $750,000 event at the Pantai Indah Kapuk Course in Jakarta by three strokes from Malaysia's rising star Nicholas Fung and Thailand's Chapchai Nirat.
Young Thai player Jazz Janewattananond started the final 18 holes tied with Bhullar, but he fell away with a double bogey at the ninth and closed with a disappointing round of 74, locked in a four-way tie for sixth.
Bhullar failed to make any birdies on the front nine, but seemed to find his form once Janewattananond's challenge faltered, with birdies at the 11th, 13th and 14th giving him a lead he never looked like conceding.
The weather intervened for an hour soon after his final birdie of the round, but Bhullar returned to close out with four pars and claim a three-shot win in a tournament he led from Thursday thanks to an opening round of 64.
His 16-under par total was too good for Fung and Nirat, who both finished the tournament strongly with rounds of 66, while Bangladeshi player Siddikur Rahman took fourth on 12-under, just ahead of another Indian Jyoti Randhawa.
"I haven't had much success this season but I know my game was up there and winning is just a matter of time," Bhullar said.
"I waited so long for my fifth win and this is my 10th consecutive event. Mentally, I was exhausted but Indonesia is one of my favourite cities as I won my first title on the Asian Tour here.
"I gave myself a lot of opportunities in the first nine holes but I misjudged my yardages on a few holes. Apart from that, there was no difference in my strategy. Winning takes a lot of patience. I'm glad I stayed patient and showed a lot of confidence."
The win was enough to lift Bhullar into fourth in the Asian Tour Order of Merit but he is still more than $600,000 behind runaway leader Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who did not play in Jakarta.
