Fiji, August 4: India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar, an eight-time Asian Tour winner, is ready to draw on his winning experience on Tour to power himself towards another victory as he snatched the third round lead with a three-under-par 69 at the Fiji International presented by Fiji Airways on Saturday.

The 30-year-old has won under blustery conditions before, most notably in Macau and he believes he can replicate that similar winning form as he holds a one-shot advantage over the Australian quartet of Jake McLeon, Jarryd Felton, Terry Pilkadaris and Andrew Dodt with his three-day total of eight-under-par 208.

McLeon, who finished tied-second in Thailand last week, hopes to ride on his good form and surmount a challenge on the day which matters most after returning with a 70 at the Natadola Bay Championship Golf Course.

Overnight leader Ben Campbell of New Zealand meanwhile had a day to forget when he saw his four-shot advantage wiped out after returning with a 77 to slip down to sixth place.

South Africa’s Ernie Els, a four-time Major champion and former world number one, underlined his credentials by signing for a 69 to haul himself back into contention at the Fiji International presented by Fiji Airways, which being tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour European Tour and ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia again.

Did you know?

• Gaganjeet Bhullar picked up golf at the age of four from his father. He grew up at Kapurthala Golf Club, in a city located north of India.
• Bhullar was India’s number one amateur in 2004 and 2006 and claimed a silver medal in the team event at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. He also won the World Junior Masters Championship in 2005.
• Bhullar claimed his eighth Asian Tour title at the Macao Open last year to become the youngest player to win eight titles on the region’s premier Tour.
• He endured another missed opportunity for his ninth Asian Tour win at the Queen’s Cup last month.
• The Indian also came close at the Maekyung Open in Korea in May but settled for a share of second place after he was defeated in the play-off.
• Jake McLeod’s tied-second finish at the Royal Cup in Pattaya, Thailand was his best result on the Asian Tour to date.

Players Quotes

Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) Third round 69 (-3), Total 208 (-8)

I had a great start to the day.  I started with two good birdies and then I kept on hitting the ball really well and the ball was in play throughout the round.  I think today my striking was really, really good.  Despite the windy conditions, I kept the ball in play, and actually I holed a lot of really tricky putts today.  Looking at the scores, it wasn’t an easy round of golf today.  Wind was howling, it was gusty, especially on the back nine. Numbers 10, 11 and 12, these holes were playing straight into the wind, they were really tough.  But yeah, I’m glad I played well today and it’s good to be back in contention. It’s never easy to play in this kind of situations, but I remember the last tournament I won was in Macau and it was really, really windy.  So of course I do have a lot of positive memories playing in this kind of situation. Golf is an individual game.  You just have to stick to your own routine and the process.  I think that’s going to be my game plan tomorrow.

Jake McLeod (Aus) Third round 70 (-2), Total 209 (-7)

It was a tough day out there today with all the wind, but I played really nicely, made a lot of putts, which is nice. I played pretty well last week as well.  So the putter’s finally coming together for me and I’m pretty happy about that. It’s always a good opportunity being up near the lead in the last round, so really looking forward to it.

Ben Campbell (Nzl) Third round 77 (+5), Total 210 (-6)

I don’t feel like I played anywhere near as bad as what I scored actually.  I think I only made one putt out there.  It was a bit frustrating.  As I said yesterday, you just needed to kind of chip and putt your way around here and that’s exactly what I didn’t do today. I’m only two back and I could have easily holed six or seven putts just like that and been still well clear today.

Ernie Els Third round 69 (-3) Total 211 (-5)

It was a nice solid round. The conditions were a little bit tougher than yesterday obviously, but I still made a bit of a mess on the front nine.  I made two very soft bogeys.  I played the back nine quite well and finished nicely.  So I’ll be quite far behind, but at least be within sniffing distance. I’m starting to hit the ball nicely, starting to get a bit more confidence in the putter.  The greens are running beautiful.  So it’s there, I’ve just got to keep it together a bit more on the front nine.  The front nine, I think, has been playing a little bit tougher this week.  Doing that, maybe I can do a little charge on the back nine tomorrow. It’s been a while (to be in contention), so it’s very nice.  We’re having a good week, myself, my daughter, my wife.  We’re enjoying Fiji.  And the locals have been wonderful, everyone’s been great.  So it’s nice to play a tournament and actually, as I said, have a sniff at it tomorrow.

Leading scores after round 3 of the Fiji International being played at the par 72, 6575 Metres Natadola Bay CGC course (am – denotes amateur):

208 – Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) 70-69-69.

209 – Jake McLeod (AUS) 72-67-70, Jarryd Felton (AUS) 67-71-71, Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 70-68-71, Andrew Dodt (AUS) 67-70-72.

210 – Ben Campbell (NZL) 67-66-77.

211 – Ernie Els (RSA) 72-70-69.

212 – Matthew Griffin (AUS) 69-72-71, Anthony Quayle (AUS) 75-66-71, Poom Saksansin (THA) 73-68-71.

213 – Andrew Martin (AUS) 72-71-70, Travis Smyth (AUS) 71-70-72, Justin Harding (RSA) 74-67-72, Ashun Wu (CHN) 70-69-74, Harry Bateman (NZL) 70-69-74.

214 – Damien Jordan (AUS) 75-70-69, Mark Brown (NZL) 75-68-71, Steven Jeffress (AUS) 73-66-75, Nicholas Cullen (AUS) 67-72-75.

Ends.