Jakarta: Despite a nightmarish start in the third round, Gaganjeet Bhullar kept himself in the fray by finishing with a share of the lead with Thailand's Jazz Janewattananond at the Indonesia Open on Saturday. Bhullar (69) shares the lead after 54 holes with Jazz.
Bhullar, ranked sixth on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, opened with a double bogey but steadied ship with his solid ball striking as he joined Jazz, who shot a 68, atop the leaderboard on 13-under-par 200 at the Pantai Indah Kapuk course at Damai Indah Golf.
There was a lot to cheer for the Indians, as Jyoti Randhawa carded a fine five-under 66 to move up to tied fifth place at 204, while Anirban Lahiri carded 67 and was placed at 11th place at seven-under 206.
SSP Chowrasia, who had four bogeys and two birdies in last holes shot 72 and slipped to tied 23rd, while Himmat Rai (70) was also tied 23rd at three-under 210.
Shiv Kapur (70), Chiragh Kumar (70) and Sujjan Singh (72) were all tied for 32nd at two-under 211, while Abhinav Lohan (74) was tied 55th at one-over 214. Rahil Gangjee (72) was tied 67th at three-over 216.
Bhullar held a one-shot advantage after returning on Saturday morning to finish two holes in round two. However, his lead was erased as soon as he stared the penultimate round when he dropped two shots on the first hole after an errand approach shot landed in the bushes.
The four-time Asian Tour winner battled back with a pair of birdies from hole three before adding a bogey and birdie on 10 and 13. Following a birdie on 17, Bhullar attacked the 18th green with his seven iron and was rewarded with a birdie from five feet.
"I would never go for the flag but I said that I'm right up there so I might as well give my 100 per cent in this shot and that was the decider I guess. I had about 153 feet to the stick and hit my seven iron to the left of the flag and holed it," smiled the 25-year-old Bhullar.
"I have another 18 holes to play and the battle is on. Jazz is playing good and a lot of other guys are up there. When you are on the golf course, you are pretty much in the zone and you don't realise if you are tired because you are excited," added the Indian, who had to wake up at 3.30am to finish the second round.
Randhawa said, "I had an eagle on the 13th. I hit with an eight iron to just the edge on the left. From there I used a loft wedge and chip into the hole from about 15 feet. That was a good shot. I played very good on the 16, 17 and 18 where I got three consecutive birdies. It's been really windy out there. I don't find the greens easy to putt on but I did make some putts today. I hit the ball very well today."
"I was lucky yesterday because I finished in the morning. I managed to get enough rest before coming to play today. It's a great golf course. The fairways are playing perfect and the greens are really nice. My ball striking was great today. I like the way I'm playing. I feel good about doing better tomorrow. I just have to do what I did today. If I can do that, I will be happy," he added.
Lahiri said, "I think I played very good. I started very well. I birdied three of the first four holes. Apart from the last hole, I played very good for the whole day today. I could have make a few more putts but I'm getting the confidence going into the final round tomorrow.
"The course has a great layout and I remembered playing here four years back in the same event. I enjoyed myself back then as well. It's a good test especially when the wind gets up. It's not the easiest thing to control the ball in the wind. If there's no wind, there's a great opportunity for players to go low."
Thai star Thongchai Jaidee, a three-time Order of Merit winner, birdied the last for 68 to remain in hot pursuit of his 14th Asian Tour title as he trails the leaders by two shots at the USD 750,000 Asian Tour event.
Thaworn Wiratchant, winner of the Indonesia Open in 2005, was a further three shots back following a 69, while Randhawa returned with a superb 65, the best round of the day, to share fifth position alongside local hope Rory Hie and Prom Meesawat of Thailand.
The flamboyant Jazz, who turned 18 four days ago, opened with two birdies before adding four other birdies which included a 50-feet birdie putt on hole 18, against three bogeys. His confidence is still at its peak after finishing tied fifth at the Resorts World Manila Masters two weeks ago.
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