Bhullar cards 69 in quest for second European title

Gaganjeet Bhullar was within striking distance for his second European Tour title, carding a three-under in the opening round for the $1.75mn Commercial Bank Qatar Masters yesterday.The 30-year-old held his own and shot a 69 in difficult conditions to stay tied 10th with 18 others after a windswept first round.Starting on back nine yesterday, Bhullar looked like he was going to emulate his opening day 67 from his 2014 Qatar debut, when he went five-under after the first 10 holes. However, a double bogey on the 11th set him back.Five years ago, Bhullar was unable to reproduce the same form, battling his way to aggregate a nine-under for tied 22nd place, while Spanish star Sergio Garcia claimed the title with 16-under.“It was a good opening day. I started off well from the 10th and I was minus five in the first 10 holes. Then I was a bit unlucky and had a double bogey, losing an odd ball. That was the only blemish I had today and off the remaining holes I parred to finish with three-under,” Bhullar told Gulf Times.Bhullar is the most successful Indian golfer on the Asian Tour after winning the co-sanctioned Fiji International last year. The 30-year-old broke the tie with Jyoti Randhawa, Jeev Milkha Singh and Arjun Atwal, who have eight titles on the continental circuit.Talking about his first round scores, he said: “It is a decent score, I would say. I feel it is a good start to the tournament. The course played in good shape – fairways, greens and bunkers. The greens are firm but a little bit dry and you have to hit the ball a little high to stop it,” he said.“The conditions were tough. Right from the morning, it was windy. It wasn’t calm. We guys teed off at 7:45 and the wind picked up and turned into gusts around 8:30 or 9. It is supposed to be like this for the rest of the day.”The other Indian in the fray, SSP Chowrasia, finished the round tied 82nd with one-over.