In-form India star Gaganjeet Bhullar declared himself satisfied with his form and the 'beautiful' Sta Elena Golf Course layout as he finished the first round of International Series Philippines presented by BingoPlus in tied seventh, just three off the lead.
The Indian, the 2023 BNI Indonesian Masters champion, carded five birdies on his front nine after starting from 10 and recovered from a solitary bogey on three, his 12th, with a sixth birdie on eight, his penultimate hole.
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That left him three off first-round leader Sarit Suwannarut of Thailand, who carded nine birdies and a bogey, and two back from in-form Kazuki Higa of Japan, who hit a flawless 65.
LIV Golf's Cleeks GC star Richard Bland is in a four-man group on T3, one ahead of 11-time Asian Tour champion Bhullar and the chasing pack which includes former world No.1 Dustin Johnson, who carded nine birdies, two bogeys and a double in an eventful day.
Bhullar said: "That was a good ball-striking day. Hit about 15 greens in regulation, six birdies, one bogey. I made a bogey on the par five from the middle of the fairway, so that was probably the only error of the day. Otherwise, I hit the ball well, holed some good 15–20 footers for birdie, and somehow kept the round together. That was the goal. That was the objective."
Bhullar was full of praise for the course for the first International Series event played in the Philippines, as he said: "I need to mention the beautiful layout before the condition. I must say that it is probably one of the best laid out, hard golf courses we have played in a long, long time.
"Talking about the conditions, the conditions are good. I believe last week they had a typhoon here, so maybe because of that, the fairway is a little soft. But otherwise it is a beautiful layout - so many holes which make you think off the tee. You really cannot pull out a driver and smash it. No, you’ have to pick your line, and then, there are a lot of risk-reward holes as well."
International Series Philippines is the sixth of nine elevated events on the Asian Tour this season which offer a pathway onto LIV Golf through a season-long Rankings race. The tournament runs until 26 October and is the first in a three-week run that includes the Link Hong Kong Open and the Moutai Singapore Open in successive weeks.
International Series tournaments have already been played in India, Macau, Japan and Morocco this season along with the Jakarta International Championship last time out. The series rounds off with the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisors from 19-22 November, and the leader of the season-long Rankings race will win a place on LIV Golf next season.
The International Series is the most prized pathway in golf. It consists of a set of elite tournaments sanctioned by the Asian Tour and offers the year-long Rankings Winner & Runner-Up promotion to the LIV Golf League.
