Gaganjeet Bhullar (Inset) – Filepic; Ryan Fox – Getty Images/ European Tour
Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, Feb 10: Gaganjeet Bhullar got off to a modest start of 2-under 70 including a birdie-birdie finish in the opening round of the Ras Al Khaimah Classic. Playing his first event on the European Tour after four months and also after recovering from Covid last month, Bhullar had three birdies against one bogey at the Al Hamra Golf Course.
Ryan Fox carded the best round of his DP World Tour career to storm into the lead at the Ras Al Khaimah Classic. His nine-under 63 gave him a two-stroke lead in the Tour’s second successive event at Al Hamra Golf Club.
Bhullar had a birdie on fifth, but gave that shot away on seventh. He parred the next nine holes before he birdied both 17 and 18. Pleased with the finish, he said, “Those two birdies at the end, gave me a lot of positivity towards the end and I think that will definitely boost my confidence for the next round. Overall I started off really well, hit a lot of fairways gave myself actually a lot of birdie opportunities today. Overall an okay start to the tournament. I guess the goal is to build up momentum on top of it.” He however admitted he struggled while reading the lines.
On his return from Covid, “Well, right now health wise, I’m perfectly fine. I am 100% right now. But yes, it’s been a while. I think the last international tournament I played was last year in November in Spain. But after that, yes, I had to miss out a few tournaments and then of course with this COVID situation. So it was it was a little different. This morning I was the first off in a European tour event after a gap of four months. But I guess you have to you have to get used to this. There are no excuses. Just get used to with the conditions as soon as possible and put up your best.”
Kiwi Fox, who struggled with a back injury in last week’s Ras Al Khaimah Championship, played with the help of physio work and a putting tip from a fellow player. It paid dividends with 10 birdies and just one bogey.
Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia sits in outright second place after a seven under 65, while nine players share third place on six under, including Scot Robert MacIntyre and in-form Englishman Richard Bland.
