Bhullar sings the same tune as jazz at Indonesia Open

Jakarta: Gaganjeet Bhullar recovered from a shaky start with a two-under-par 69 to share the third round lead with Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond at the Indonesia Open on Saturday.

The Indian, 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.

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 US$750,000 Asian Tour event.

Thaworn Wiratchant, winner of the Indonesia Open in 2005, was a further three shots back following a 69 while Jyoti Randhawa of India 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.


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% 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.


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.

“I carried on the confidence into my game this week. This golf course is kind of similar to the one I played in Manila so I think that’s an advantage for me. This course is a bit too long for me so I’m glad to be playing well here,” said Jazz.

A relentless Thongchai, ranked 48th on the Official World Golf Ranking, was solid for most of the round except for a double bogey on the sixth hole when his wayward tee shot landed in the fairway bunker. He stayed among the title contenders when he sank an eight feet birdie putt on the last.

“I still have a chance to win. The conditions are quite tough. I only had one bad hole otherwise my round was okay. I think three-under is a very good round and I’m happy to be in this position,” said the Thai.

The 39th edition of Indonesia’s national championship, which has a rich and illustrious history dating back to its first edition in 1974, is the nation’s oldest golf tournament.

Fans from around the world can also watch these world class golfers in action through the live broadcast on the Asian Tour Media platform. Asian Tour Media will produce 16 hours of live coverage from the event which will be seen across Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America plus further coverage and distribution generated via the highlights and magazine programmes from the event, resulting in global media exposure for all the sponsors involved in this prestigious tournament.

The 2013 Indonesia Open is supported by some of the most recognisable domestic and international brands, which include BANK BRI, Total E&P Indonesie, Japfa, PT. Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk, JS Luwansa Hotel & Convention Center, Pertamina, Harum Energy, Bintang, Sequislife, Subway, Beringer, Mazda, Srixon, Loewe, Danone, Hypernet, Ricoh, White Horse and Maui Jim.


Scores after round 3 of the Indonesia Open 2013 being played at the par 71, 7100 Yards Damai Indah GC course (a- denotes amateur):

200 - Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA) 66-66-68, Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 64-67-69.
202 - Thongchai JAIDEE (THA) 67-67-68.
203 - Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 70-64-69.
204 - Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND) 69-70-65, Rory HIE (INA) 68-68-68, Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 67-66-71.
205 - Siddikur RAHMAN (BAN) 71-65-69, Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 67-67-71, Nicholas FUNG (MAS) 66-67-72.
206 - Anirban LAHIRI (IND) 71-68-67, Antonio LASCUNA (PHI) 74-65-67, Namchok TANTIPOKHAKUL (THA) 69-68-69, Chawalit PLAPHOL (THA) 69-67-70.
207 - Rattanon WANNASRICHAN (THA) 72-68-67.
208 - Daniel CHOPRA (SWE) 71-69-68, Angelo QUE (PHI) 72-68-68, CHAN Yih-shin (TPE) 71-67-70, KIM Gi-whan (KOR) 68-68-72.
209 - Chan KIM (USA) 68-72-69, LEE Sung (KOR) 70-72-67, David LIPSKY (USA) 67-71-71.