An early eagle and a late birdie plus smart course management drawn from his experience of almost two decades saw Gaganjeet Bhullar card a 2-under 70 final round and create history as he became the first IGPL Invitational Champion.
Related: Bhullar joins Shaurya in lead, rookie pros Kartik, Veer in chase
Bhullar, winner of 11 Asian Tour titles, the most by an Indian, and an icon player in the IGPL shot three great rounds of 70-71-70 for a 5-under total and won by two shots over the consistent M Dharma at the Chandigarh Golf Club.
The man, who has won on many Tours, immediately remarked, “This one is for the history books.”
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Bhullar took home a cheque of Rs 22.50 lakhs from the prize purse of Rs. 1.5 crores. Dharma bagged Rs, 15 lakhs and the threesome of Veer Ganapathy, Kartik Sharma and Shaurya Binu earned around Rs. 8.7 lakh each.
Bhullar was challenged hard by Dharma, Veer and Shaurya. Dharma shot 70-75-68 to finish sole second and he gave Bhullar a tough fight with a 5-under back nine, but his two bogeys on the front nine cost him dearly.
Left-handed debutant Veer (72-72-70) was tied for third alongside another southpaw, Kartik (73-73-68) who produced a 4-under 68, the equal best round of the tournament, and Binu (69-72-73), finished in a tie for third. Shaurya had held at least a share of the lead for the first 36 holes
Another young player, Neil Jolly and the experienced Kapil Kumar were tied for sixth at 1-under for the week as only seven players came under par on a challenging course.
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Three players, Dharma, Kartik and Sunhit Bishnoi (75-73-68 for 8th place) produced 68s on a course that was difficult to score after the rains pounded in the few weeks before the event. Yet the Chandigarh Golf Club managed to get it in shape for the Rs. 1.5 crore event.
Kartik Singh, who at various stages this week indicated that he could be the next big star, finally finished Tied ninth alongside Aman Raj, Sanju Kumar, Sachin Baisoya, Harendra Gupta and Pukhraj Singh Gill.
Jahanvi Bakshi making a comeback after two years of injuries was the top woman finisher with rounds of 73-71-75 and was 19th in a field of 54 that included 38 men pros, 10 women pros and six amateurs.
Bhullar, who opened with a bogey, quickly more than made up with an eagle soon after. A string of pars followed and as Dharma and the young brigade chased him, he stayed steady and added a late birdie on the 17th to seal the issue.
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Veer, who was 3-under for the tournament at the 18th tee, was in the mix all through, was all set for a sole second. He was sitting on an 8-foot birdie on the 18th, but he three putted and it became a bogey and he fell to tied third.
Yet, the big-built young star said, “I had a blast this week. Big bold golf, aggressive play with no cut and I will take all the positives from this first week as a pro. I am looking forward to all the other IGPL events.”
The next IGPL event will be held at the Jaypee Greens, Greater Noida, from September 17 to 19, 2025.
