Bhullar bags seventh career title with Hyderabad play-off triumph

Gaganjeet Bhullar won the Phoenix Invitational Hyderabad after defeating Raghav Chugh in a play-off. Two late birdies helped him force a tie at 14-under before he secured his fourth title of the season and seventh overall

Hyderabad: Gaganjeet Bhullar’s biggest weapon has been his self-belief, and it helped him secure yet another victory — his fourth of the season and seventh overall — at the Phoenix Invitational Hyderabad presented by Hyderabad Firebirds GC.

For the second consecutive week, Bhullar won a play-off. Last week, he had birdied twice in his final three holes at Vooty Golf County. This time, he overcame Raghav Chugh, who was just four years old when Bhullar turned professional.

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Bhullar of Vimtra Chennai Lions GC birdied the 16th and 17th holes to reach 14-under, while Raghav Chugh of Phoenix Hyderabad Firebirds GC, who had held the lead moments earlier, sank a crucial birdie on his closing hole to force a play-off. Bhullar once again emerged victorious in the shoot-out on the par-4 18th. Earlier, Bhullar had narrowly missed a 20-foot birdie putt that would have given him an outright win, but the title was ultimately decided in a play-off.

Sachin Baisoya of Phoenix Hyderabad Firebirds GC finished third at 13-under, while Kartik Sharma of Flyingman Kolkata Tigers GC, who produced the best round of the day with a nine-under 63, shared fourth place at 12-under with Harshjeet Singh Sethie of Vimtra Chennai Lions GC (70) and Shaurya Binu of Unico Gurugram Tuskers GC (64). It was the best AM Green IGPL finish of 2026 for both Kartik and Harshjeet.

M Dharma of Green Fuels Vizag Dolphins GC, Sawai Hamendra Singh Bhati of Auro Realty Goa Eagles GC and Arjun Prasad of Unico Gurugram Tuskers GC shared seventh place at 11-under. Olympian Udayan Mane, Shiv Kapur and young Danish Verma, the overnight leader, were tied for 10th at 10-under.

In the team competition, hosts Phoenix Hyderabad Firebirds, represented by Raghav Chugh, Sachin Baisoya, Ranjit Singh and Arjun Bhati, took the honours at 27-under. They edged out Flyingman Kolkata Tigers (Kartik Sharma, Syed Saqib Ahmed, Varun Parikh and Sukhman Singh) and Chennai Lions (Bhullar, Sethie, Ravi Kumar and Yashas Chandra), who shared second place at 26-under.

Bhullar, who was trailing with three holes remaining, said he had continued to believe he could turn things around despite running out of holes.

“Somehow, you know, somewhere at the back of my mind, I knew that I could turn it around sooner or later. And it happened with those two late birdies,” he said.

The next event is scheduled to be held in Pune from November 18 to 20.