Melbourne: Asia’s debutants at the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf left Royal Melbourne with mixed results on Sunday but vowed to make a quick return to the prestigious event and also the 2016 Olympic Games.
India’s Anirban Lahiri emerged as the best performer with a final round of one-over-par 72 in blustery conditions to earn a commendable tied 25th finish alongside the likes of Major champion Vijay Singh of Fiji and Europe’s Ryder Cup star Nicholas Colsaerts on three-over-par 277.
Countryman Gaganjeet Bhullar battled to his week’s best with a 71 but finished last in the 60-man field, a week after he enjoyed a top-10 at the Australian Masters which was also played over the iconic Royal Melbourne layout.
China’s Wu Ashun hit a fine closing 69 for a share of 38th place in his first World Cup appearance while Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh, the first man from his country to qualify for the US$8 million event, settled for tied 55th position after ending his campaign in style by holing a bunker shot for birdie on the 18th hole for a 73.
The 27-year-old Lahiri, a three-time Asian Tour winner, said: “It’s been a very good week, a very positive week. My first time out here, a big learning curve on new conditions and very different to what we play on.
“To represent India for the first time as a professional was fantastic. I hope to play in more World Cups as there are a lot of good Indians out there. We have to continue to play a high level of golf to keep myself in the top few to get selected for events like this. I hope there will be many more to come
“This is what we work towards to, to get to the World Cup and the Majors. I look forward to playing in more events like this.”
Countryman Bhullar was disappointed he did not feature prominently in the World Cup especially after he had high hopes following his strong outing in the Australian Masters in the previous week.
“Last week and this week, the ball striking has been absolutely the same. It was all down to the putting, the ball is not going into the hole, just taking extra shots to get in the hole. This week was totally different,” lamented Bhullar, a four-time winner in Asia.
“Last week, I played really solid and thought I would repeat it this week. I think it was a lot to do with the overconfidence from last week’s top-10. I sat down with my family over dinner last night and we were thinking about what went wrong. A lot of key factors which I thought would not disturb me got me. It’s a good lesson. I will have to be more patient and not be result oriented and keep to the process and routine.”
The tenacious Siddikur, currently third on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit, raised loud cheers around the 18th green when he holed a magical shot from out of the greenside bunker for a birdie and a closing 73 and 298 total.
“It was nice to hole out from the bunker,” said the Bangladeshi. “It’s a great course, which I’ve never played anything like this in my life before and also the greens were really so different. I couldn’t putt but I’m glad I played in this World Cup. My game is still there, I’m hitting it good but I just couldn’t deal with the putts.
“If I can maintain my game, and keep playing better on the Asian Tour, I’m looking forward to playing more World Cups and also in the Olympics in Rio De Janeiro in 2016.”
China’s Wu, who won his second Japan Tour title two weeks ago, was delighted to shoot his second under par round of the week on Sunday. “I’ve enjoyed my first World Cup. Managed to shoot a couple of under par rounds which was nice. This course, it’s not like any I’ve seen in China or Asia. The greens are very difficult. Course management is very important and it’s probably the biggest thing I’ve learned here,” said Wu.
“I was also a bit tired this week as this was my 10th week of playing in a row. I would probably need to plan better to ensure that I’m fresh for the big tournaments in the future. Hopefully I will get to play in the World Cup again in two years’ time and most certainly in the Olympics as well. I’ll need to keep up my form over the next two years but I feel that my game is going in the right direction.”