Asian Tour Yearbook: 2023

Gaganjeet Bhullar [LEFT AND FAR RIGHT] won wire-to- wire for the fourth time on the Asian Tour. I t was while playing the St Andrews Bays Championship in August, just a few par-fives away from the Home of Golf, that Gaganjeet Bhullar could tell his golfing mojo was back. The year did not begin well for the smooth-swinging Indian ace. If there is one quality that has defined his golf in a journey that had seen him amass 10 Asian Tour titles till then, it’s been his consistency. As sure as the sun rising from the east, Bhullar would somehow find a way to rise up the leaderboards. In 2023, he missed the cut at the season-opening PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers and followed it up with a string of middle- of-the-pack results. It all changed during the second round at Fairmont St Andrews. That day, Bhullar shot a five-under-par 67, hit all 14 fairways, and missed only the last two greens in regulation. “I told my family and friends after that tournament that I was hitting the ball beautifully again and I could feel a win coming my way. All I needed to do was stay patient,” reminisces Bhullar. Patience paid off in spectacular style at the BNI Indonesian Masters presented by Tunas Niaga Energi. With an eagle putt on the 72nd that was going nowhere but dead centre of the cup from 20 feet, Bhullar (63-67-63-67) won the $1.5 million International Series event by five shots over compatriot Karandeep Singh Kochhar (69-68-65-63). It was his 11th title on the Asian Tour, the third most successful on the Tour after Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant (18) and Thongchai Jaidee (13); fifth on Indonesian soil and fourth in which he led wire-to-wire. At Royale Jakarta Golf Club, Bhullar started his campaign with a stunning, bogey-free eight-under 63, in which he hit all 18 greens in regulation and missed only one fairway, and then added a similar score in Saturday’s third round after a 67 on Friday. He then closed with BHULLAR CONTINUES HIS LOVE STORY WITH INDONESIA INDIAN ACE WINS FIFTH TITLE IN INDONESIA IN EMPHATIC STYLE 132 BN I I NDONE S I A N MA ST ER S PR E SEN T ED BY T NE ROYA L E J A K A R TA GO L F C L U B , J A K A R TA | NOV EM B E R 1 6 - 1 9 | P R I Z E MON E Y U S $ 1 . 5 M I L L I ON