Lahiri, Bhullar vow to return to World Cup of Golf

Melbourne, Nov 24 (IANS) India’s debutants at the World Cup of Golf left Royal Melbourne with mixed results and experiences Sunday but vowed to make a quick return to the prestigious event.

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 here.

“It’s been a very good, 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,” 27-year-old Lahiri, a three-time Asian Tour winner, said.

“We have to continue to playing at high level to keep myself in the top few to get selected for events like these. 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.”

Bhullar was disappointed he did not feature prominently in the World Cup especially after he had high hopes following his strong outing at the Australian Masters, 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,” said Bhullar, a four-time winner in Asia.

“Last week I played real solid and thought I would repeat it this week. It was a lot to do with the overconfidence from last week’s top-10. 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.”