Gaganjeet Bhullar makes a promising start in Philippines

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 in tied seventh, just three off the lead in a star-studded field.

Bhullar, 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.

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, and fellow LIV Golf star Dean Burmester.

Major champions Patrick Reed (-2), Louis Oosthuizen (-1), and Charl Schwartzel (-1) are also in the field, which contains 15 LIV Golf players.

"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," said Bhullar.

Compatriots Ajeetesh Sandhu and Karandeep Khochhar are both on two under, while SSP Chawrasia (+2) and Rayhan Thomas (+5) both have their work cut out trying to make the weekend.

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 it is probably one of the best-laid-out, challenging golf courses we have played on in a long, long time.

"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 that make you think off the tee. You really cannot pull out a driver and smash it. You have to pick your line, and then, there are a lot of risk-reward holes as well."

Two-time Major champion Johnson, who carded nine birdies, two bogeys, and a double in an eventful first round, was delighted with the experience. He said: “It is great, the first time that the Philippines has hosted a tournament. It is a really nice field; they have done a great job. The crowds were nice out there, and hopefully they are going to keep having this event. I am excited to play a few more places, probably next year I'll play a few more Asian Tour events. I'm happy with where I'm at after day one.

Sarit, a two-time winner on The International Series with victories at the BNI Indonesian Masters in 2022 and the Volvo China Open in 2023, said: “It was perfect. I’ve been playing pretty good. I mean, before a round, I know I can share the ball number with my caddie and hit the shots. I tell myself, you can hit it, you can do it.

“It’s not as long as some other golf courses, but the rough is pretty thick. If you miss your position, it is really hard to get it out. You have to be hitting well and putting it in a good position to make a good number.”

Speaking on his recent run of form, Sarit added: “I’d say a couple of things have happened for me. I put in a new putter in Korea and it has started working well for me. I also changed my coach. I have been working on my swing, and the changes are becoming pretty good.”

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.