Bhullar is only seventh at the International Series Philippines

India’s 11-time Asian Tour winner Gaganjeet Bhullar in action during the $2 million International Series Philippines in Manila on Saturday. Image courtesy of Asian Tour.

By Rahul Banerji

Gaganjeet Bhullar, an 11-time Asian Tour winner, climbed to a lone seventh place, four shots off the lead, at the $2 million International Series Philippines in Manila on Saturday.

At the top, Sampson Zheng set up a final round with home hero Miguel Tabuena and the in-form Sarit Suwannarut of Thailand posting a sensational third round 10-under-par 62.

Sarit (69), a two-time International Series winner, put up four shots ahead of Tabuena and Kazuki Higa, but was caught on Moving Day by the hard-hitting Zheng and Tabuena, who made two eagles and three birdies for a flawless 65.

The leading trio were one ahead of Japan’s Yosuke Asaji (65), while South Africa’s LIV Golf star Dean Burmester (65) and Higa (68) were tied for fifth at 14 under.

Bhullar (67) bogeyed his final hole but held on to seventh place at 13 under, one ahead of Australian Marc Leishman (65).

Bhullar’s round of five under left him just four shots off the lead, delivering a near-flawless performance before the late bogey.

On target

“I played really well today. I probably hit 13 of the 14 fairways and 16 of the 18 greens, so I kept a really good momentum going.

“I drove the ball well, hit my irons close and gave myself plenty of birdie opportunities. I also made some really good up-and-downs for par – especially on holes 11 and 17 – which helped keep the round on track.

“Overall it was a solid day of golf, just a little miss on the last hole where I couldn’t get up and down, but I’m happy with how I played.”

Chandigarh golfer Karandeep Kochhar also returned a 67 to break into the top 20 going into the final round, while Ajeetesh Sandhu posted a level par 72, marked by an eagle at eight, and sat T50 at five under.

Zheng, 24, of China rode a hot putter and jumped into contention with a round that included eight birdies and an eagle on the par-five eighth hole.

Crucial rescue

The round included four consecutive birdies on the back nine, followed by a crucial par save on his final hole, where he two-putted from 45 feet.

“I hit a lot of greens and made a lot of putts. To be honest, I didn’t feel like I was doing anything super special, but I just stuck to the game plan.

“He made a lot of shots from very close range, and fortunately made some putts,” said Zheng, whose best finish on the Asian Tour last year was a tie for second at the Mandiri Indonesia Open and a T4 at the International Series England.

“My second shot in eight was probably the best shot I hit all day. I hit a four-hybrid to 24 feet and the eagle gave me a lot of momentum.

“It got me from two under for a day to four, and the snowball started rolling from there. So that was a really important shot.”

In Friday’s second round, Tabuena made a hole-in-one and an eagle, and on Saturday he followed with Eagles on the par-five third and 16th holes.

On the third, Tabuena hit a four-iron from 257 yards and hit a five-iron from 235 yards downwind on the 16th.

Tabuena said: “To be honest, I completely forgot about my score. I was just cruising and in a real flow state – which is exactly what I wanted to achieve at the start of the day.

Clear focus

“I didn’t want to think about my score or what the other players were doing, I just wanted to focus on my own game and execute my plan, and it was nice to be able to do that today.

“I haven’t played in front of so many people for a long time. It just makes it more special that it’s happening here at home. Hopefully I can get the job done tomorrow.”

After making 16 birdies in his first 36 holes, Sarit could only add five in the third, apart from two bogeys – one of which came on the par-five eighth.

“It was a tough day. I wasn’t hitting my driver as well as the first two days, and the pins were a little harder.

“So overall solid, but not as good as I wanted,” said the 27-year-old, who led by four shots the week before in Macao but finished tied for fourth.

Also read: Bhullar battles to stay the course with some of the leadership in Jakarta

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