Bhullar joins Binu in lead with debutant pros Kartik and Veer in hot chase

Gaganjeet Bhullar in action.

Rakesh Thapliyal

Chandigarh: Gaganjeet Bhullar lived up to his top billing with a steady 1-under 71 that carried him to the top and into a share of the first place with the overnight leader Shaurya Binu in the inaugural Rs. 1.5 crore IGPL Invitational Chandigarh.

Bhullar (70-71) and Binu (69-72) were both tied at 3-under as opening event of the IGPL Tour hung in a delicate balance, with two others Kapil Kumar and Harendra Gupta, were 1-under and two shots behind in Tied third place.

Six others were at even par on a course that did not yield many low scores and resulted in a tightly bunched leaderboard ahead of the final day.

No less than 10 players were within three shots of each other as the fight to become the first IGPL Champion became very intense. It promises an exciting final day, the likes of which have seldom been seen in Indian golf, as the young and not-so-young battle the youth and experienced alike.

Making it even more exciting was the presence of a woman pro, Jahanvi Bakshi, who was tied fifth with five others and just three behind the leaders. A win for her would be historic and do wonders for Jahanvi as she slowly makes her way back after injuries over the last few years.

Bhullar and Binu may share the lead, but a whole bunch of players, young and experienced, were snapping at their heels to have a shot at the Rs. 22.50 lakh winner’s cheque, one of the highest ever in a domestic event in India.

Attracting a lot of attention on a crowded leaderboard were two debutant professionals, Kartik Singh (73-71) and Veer Ganapathy (72-72).

Kartik, Veer and Jahanvi were tied fifth alongside Sanju Kumar, local man Ranjit Singh and Saarthak Chibber, who bounced back on the second day with the day’s best of 69 after a 75 on the first day.

Bhullar opened with a bogey but rallied with birdies on the second and the fourth before turning in a series of pars. He birdied the 12th but gave back that gain on the 14th with a bogey for a 71 that took him to 3-under.

“It will be nice to begin a new IGPL Tour win in Chandigarh, a city which has been like a home for me. So, a win tomorrow will mean a lot.”

“Apart from my own game, I have also enjoyed playing and interacting with young golfers, who are still in their teens. They have the talent and a great future,” said Bhullar, who has 11 Asian Tour wins, the most by any Indian golfer.

Binu, who began the day as the sole leader at 3-under, threatened to pull away from the field with early heroics. He was on a song with three birdies against one bogey in the first seven holes. After the turn, he added another one on the 12th to go three-under for the day six-under for the tournament and seemed in command.

Then he struck a disastrous patch with a bogey-double bogey-bogey from the 14th to the 16th and went 1-over par. A birdie on the 17th was like a balm ahead of the final day. After 69 on the first day, he finished par on the second day.

“I won’t say putting was a problem. My game just did not click after the first few holes. Those three (14-15-16) holes do not suit my eye,” said Binu.

Kartik’s card suggests a roller-coaster of a round with five birdies and three bogeys. However, till the 16th, which he birdied, he was cruising and gunning for the lead at 2-under total. Then came the putting woes as he bogeyed the closing two holes to fall back to even par three behind the leaders.

“Putting let me down towards the end,” said the youngster, who was confident of making amends on the final day.

Veer Ganapathy shot a second successive even par round under the watchful eye of his father, Rahul Ganapathy, a former All India Amateur champion, who once shot a 12-under round in a pro event.

Trailing Bhullar and Binu and lying Tied third were Kapil Kumar, who hails from a pedigreed golfing family, and Harendra Gupta, whose love for and success at the Chandigarh Golf Club is almost unrivalled.

Local Chandigarh man, Harendra, 41, who learnt his name at this very course and then honed it to the extent that four of his 11 wins in pro events have come here. Harendra said the IGPL has given him new motivation. His amazing record at the Chandigarh Golf Club consists of four pro wins in a little over 20 years at this course and one of the wins came while he was still an amateur way back in ago in 2003-04.

Kapil, 33, who has time and again finished in Top-5 on the Indian pro Tour, is still looking for his maiden professional win this week.

The top woman in the field after two days was Jahanvi, the older sister of Hitaashee, also an IGPL player, who is teeing up in Switzerland this week. Jahanvi is making a comeback from a series of injuries, which threatened her golfing career, but this week should be just the boost she needed.

“The IGPL had been a great opportunity for me. It has given me a chance to find my game back and I am so happy to be just playing again,” said Jahanvi.

Six players, including two debutant pros, Kartik and Veer, were among the large bunch in tied fifth place.