The look of assurance was the same, so was the clinical dismissal of opposition that brought with itself an incredible margin of victory. But as Jyoti Randhawa and Gaganjeet Bhullar looked down the 18th fairway, the throng gathered at the lake-side green was waiting for a different man to finish the formalities of the stroll.

The 21-year-old Bhullar eased to the DLF Masters title on Sunday, shooting a four-under 68 that was enough to beat the nearest name on the leaderboard by five shots. It is a style that Randhawa has been known to apply while winning at home, but on this afternoon, he was one of the people at the receiving end.

“I would rate this win as big as my title in Indonesia (the Asian Tour Indonesia President Invitational in July) as I beat Jyoti at home,” Bhullar said.

Anirban Lahiri leapt up with a final round of six-under 66 that earned the Bangalore player a second-place finish with a total of ten-under 278.

The promised battle between Randhawa and Bhullar delivered little, as despite the first mistake from the younger player, it was the defending champion whose challenge ran out in double-quick time. Randhawa only managed a two-over 74 to finish in tied fourth place along with Shamim Khan, their totals of eight-280 a shot worse than Ashok Kumar’s.

Having started off the morning in a one-shot advantage, Bhullar bogeyed the par-four second hole to hand the first advantage to Randhawa. The 37-year-old didn’t even get a grip on the baton, though, missing a one-foot-long putt for par after a perfect chip from the bunker on the very next hole, and three-putting the two after that. Bhullar promptly responded with three birdies through the next four holes, making the turn six shots better of his playing partner. He then birdied the 13th and 14th to extend the advantage.

... contd.