Jakarta (Indonesia), Oct 3 (IANS) India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar is a serial winner in Indonesia, and he continued his strong form with a solid five-under-par second round of 65 at the Jakarta International Championship, to move into T2 on the leaderboard, just one stroke behind clubhouse leader Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand.

Starting the day by completing two holes from Round One in the morning, Bhullar carried momentum straight into round two with four birdies on his front nine from 10, and three more on the back. Aside from two bogeys on 13 and 15, the Olympian showed why Indonesia has long been a happy hunting ground for him.

“This morning we came back to finish the last two holes from the first round, and I closed with a birdie, which gave me good momentum heading into round two,” Bhullar said. “The key today was accuracy – I hit all 14 fairways and 16 greens in regulation, which gave me plenty of birdie chances. I did make two bogeys, but overall it was a very solid round.”

The 37-year-old is no stranger to success in Indonesia. Out of his 11 Asian Tour titles, five have come in Indonesia, including the 2023 BNI Indonesian Masters, his most recent tournament win. He also won the Indonesia Open at this week’s course in 2013.

“It feels good to be back,” he added. “Coming here brings back a lot of positive memories. Walking past the champions’ photos and seeing mine there is always motivating. Indonesia has been very kind to me, and the goal is to stay positive and build on this momentum.”

Bhullar, who has cut all four International Series events so far this year, is confident about what lies ahead.

“My best finish was in Morocco, around 14th, but mentally I felt like I was playing much better than the scores showed. I feel like I’ve been playing better than my scores have shown. Sometimes the first half sets you up well for the second half, and I’m looking forward to a strong run of events,” commented Bhullar.

England’s Steve Lewton, who won on the same track last year on the Mandiri Indonesia Open, went one better as he carded a bogey-free six under to move level with Bhullar. At the top of the leaderboard, Pavit matched Bhullar’s five-under round to take the outright lead at 11-under-par, buoyed by sharp putting.

“My overall game is solid this week, especially my putting,” Pavit said. “I worked a lot after last week, and it feels like it’s paying off. Once the first putt dropped, the confidence just flowed.” Also making waves was fellow Thai Tanapat Pichaikool, who carded a brilliant eight-under-par round to move into solo fourth. He opened with four straight birdies from holes one to four, setting the tone for a confident performance.

“It was a fantastic round,” Tanapat said. “I told myself to play with freedom and stop worrying about other things, and the results showed.”

With Bhullar within striking distance of the lead, Indian fans will be keeping a close watch as the weekend unfolds at the Jakarta International Championship.

–IANS

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