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In-form Bhullar wants to be Selangor Master

India's rising star Gaganjeet Bhullar will enter next week's Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters packed with confidence following his much awaited maiden Asian Tour victory.

Bhullar will feature in the RM1 million (US$300,000) event alongside the Tour's top stars including Korea's Noh Seung-yul and Bae Sang-moon, Australia's Adam Blyth, Filipino's Artemio Murakami and Thai duo Thaworn Wiratchant and Chapchai Nirat, who holds the world's lowest scoring record over 72 holes.

Malaysia's Ben Leong will defend his title at the par-71 Seri Selangor Golf Club from August 5 to 8 (Wednesday to Saturday).

The 21-year-old Bhullar, who made his British Open debut in July, proved he was the real deal when he bagged his first Asian Tour title at the Indonesia President Invitational last weekend where he posted an impressive four-day total of 22-under-par 266.

"I've been waiting for my first title for the past two years and to be honest, I can't describe how happy I am. This win has given me a lot of confidence and many things are going to change in my life," said Bhullar, who is widely tipped to follow in the footsteps of India's number one golfer Jeev Milkha Singh.

After turning professional at the end of 2006 following a strong amateur career where he was India's number one, Bhullar has matured into a top-class golfer on the Asian Tour. He earned his full playing card at the end of last season after a heroic final round performance at the Cambodian Open where he shot a 64 to finish 11th which was good enough to seal 65th place on the Order of Merit - the last position for players to get their full Tour card.

This year, Bhullar has continued to impress, claiming three top-10s including a second place finish at the SAIL Open on home soil before earning his maiden major appearance at the British Open.

"My experience at the British Open and playing with the big boys like Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia has certainly helped me a lot. I know there is more work to be done and I'm ready for it," said Bhullar, who is currently 10th on the Asian Tour's Order of Merit.

Bhullar's victory came at the expense of Blyth who is still chasing for the elusive first title. The talented Australian will be looking to put his two-stroke loss in Indonesia behind him as he prepares to improve on last year's tied 11th finish at the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters.

Blyth is currently eighth on the Order of Merit with US$140,377, thanks to three top-10 finishes this year which include the second place finish in Indonesia. He was also the third round leader at the Maybank Malaysian Open before slipping back on the last day and he will be hoping to make amends on his return to Malaysia.

"I will just keep playing hard and to try to let it (winning) happen. I'm not going to try and force myself to win as it has not worked out for me in the past," said the 27-year-old.

Murakami, who is of Filipino-Japanese parentage, tasted victory on Malaysian soil in 2007 when he won the Iskandar Johor Open and he will be looking to build on his tied fifth finish at the Indonesia President Invitational.

Also in the elite field is the evergreen Thaworn. The 10-time Asian Tour winner, who won the Negri Masters recently, led after the second round of the Indonesia President Invitational but fell behind to settle for his second 14th place finish this year.

On the local front, Iain Steel will be determined to land a first Asian Tour title on home ground. He started the year brightly with a tied 11th place finish at the Asian Tour International in Thailand and after last year's lone third place finish at Seri Selangor course, the US-based Malaysian will be expected to contend next week.

Among the other top names who will lead the Malaysian charge are 2007 Pakistan Open winner Airil Rizman and 2002 Taiwan Open winner Danny Chia.

A total of 156 players will compete in the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters which will include 36 Malaysian players, 112 Asian Tour professionals and eight invited players.

July 31, 2009