Bhullar stays in top-5 despite tough third round
Battling tough conditions, India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar shot one-over 72 in the third round but remained inside the top-5 at the Singapore Open on Saturday.
Sitting at the top of the leaderboard at the $2 million International Series event is Korea’s Jeongwoo Ham, who, after shooting a 68, has been in the lead across all three days.
In energy-sapping conditions with the formidable Serapong course at the Sentosa Golf Club to boot, Bhullar hung on gamely to shoot 1-over 72 on a moving day in a round that was all about minimising the damage and staying in the mix.
Bhullar currently lies in tied fifth place at 6-under 207, a position he shared with Thai Jazz Janewattananond (68-66-73) and Pakistan’s Ahmad Baig (69-71-67), who, with an eagle and two birdies, was one of the standout performers of the day.
Bhullar encountered a nasty double bogey early on the third hole, which threatened to derail his progress.
“That was unfortunate. I hit a good drive; it was in the first cut, and the lie was fine. I had about 210 yards with a five-iron, but made a poor swing and pulled it left.
“From there, I ended up in a tricky spot near the bunker with no proper stance for my fourth shot. I managed to get it to about 10 feet but missed the putt,” Bhullar said.
He got back a stroke immediately on the fourth and then went on to birdie the ninth as well. He would have hoped to go low in the back nine to make a charge up the leaderboard, but ended up making 8 pars and a bogey after the turn.
Bhullar currently lies seven shots off the pace from leader Ham, yet remains hopeful.
“Overall, with 18 holes to go, I’ll keep my head down, get some lunch, and spend some time working on my putting.”
Young Pukhraj Singh Gill (71-70-72), playing on an International Series invite, played steady once again.
The Ludhiana player is at level-par and at the Tied-45 place.
The other Indian to make the cut, Karandeep Kochhar, had a rather forgettable outing today, carding a 6-over 77 to lie at T-67.
Ham has a four-shot lead over Australia’s Cameron John, who returned a 67, the joint-lowest round of the day along with Baig and Thailand’s Itthipat Buranatanyarat, while Japan’s Tomohiro Ishizaka is in third, another stroke back, following a 70.
Ham was unflappable again on Saturday, conducting a putting exhibition.
