Gaganjeet Bhullar wins maiden Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational title

Bhullar (69-65-68-71), who was tied at the top with local player Karandeep Kocchar till the 18th hole, edged past his rival on his final putt, sinking a sensational 10-footer birdie to walk away with the winner's cheque with an overall score of 15-under 273. The 2020 champion Kocchar (65-70-68-71) of Chandigarh finished as the runner-up with an overall score of 14-under 274 in the Rs 1.5 crore tournament presented by TAKE at the Chandigarh Golf Club. The 2018 winner Chikkarangappa S (65-71-67-72) and Chandigarh's Akshay Sharma (69-68-71-67) finished at tied third with identical overall scores of 13-under 275.

Bhullar had a bumpy start on Sunday, bogeying twice on the front nine as birdies eluded him. However, his back nine got him some breathing space with back-to-back birdies on the 11th and 12th holes before hitting a roadblock with another bogey on the 15th hole where he missed a short putt. A birdie immediately after got him back into contention and the 10-time Asian Tour winner did not let this opportunity slip by as he converted his final shot on the 18th -- a 12-footer birdie putt to win his maiden Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational in style.

He broke the tradition of this tournament -- entering a playoff in its last four editions. “I played my back nine like a champion today. I did have a shaky start, but my past experience as a golfer and my knowledge of this course together came in handy today," Bhullar said.

"I kept telling myself to not go for the result but play one shot at a time and I think that worked my way. The birdie on 11th, my first today, was probably the turning point in my round. My second birdie on the 16th got me motivated for the final two holes.