Gaganjeet Bhullar of NSports Hyderabad in action at the Louis Philippe Cup golf in Bengaluru. (Photo: Satish R.)
Perseverance pays. Gaganjeet Bhullar along with team-mate Ajeetesh Sandhu proved that in good measure showing that one good round can dramatically change the direction of the game.
As the Louis Philippe Cup headed towards the business end, newcomers NSports Hyderabad led by a determined Bhullar, stole the show in the city-based golf league on a sunny Friday afternoon.
While overnight leaders, Dev Chandigarh headed in the direction of a wire-to-wire victory, the Hyderabad team stamped their authority in the tournament jumping to tied second from a poor seventh. Hyderabad and Take Chennai are at the second spot with a total of 12-under-420.
Though Chandigarh held onto to the lead, Hyderabad showed their grit as they put themselves in contention for the title. The experienced Bhullar, who had had two mellow rounds, finally came to the party, turning in the day's best card of six-under-66, while team-mate Sandhu produced the second best card at five-under-67.
Bhullar began with a birdie on the opening hole. From thereon the 28-year-old, set the course on fire as he saved two more strokes on the front nine, while he carded as many as four birdies on the back nine, on the 10th, 11th, 14th and 17th holes. The Amritsar golfer however failed to provide the ideal finish, misreading the line on the 18th to end with a bogey.
Meanwhile, Sandhu, struggling with the course over the past two days, finally got a hang of the greens. The 27-year-old’s card was studded with six birdies, on the 2nd, 8th, 10th, 11th, 13th, and 18th, while his only missed shot came on the par-4 9th hole.
Bhullar said: “This round was long overdue.”
