Gaganjeet Bhullar admits "pressure is part of the game” in elite-level golf, as he revealed that he will once again be using special tools to support the defence of his BNI Indonesian Masters title against a strong field at Royale Jakarta Golf Club this week.
The Indian, an 11-time winner on the Asian Tour, recorded a sensational 24-under-par wire-to-wire victory last year to win by five shots from young compatriot Karandeep Khochhar.
Heading into the seventh event of 10 on The International Series this week he said: "Talking about pressure, I would say the answer is yes, I do feel pressure. I am sure a lot of the defending champions do feel pressure – it is part of the game.”
When referring to the steps he is taking to combat that pressure – the 36-year-old has had plenty of practice, with the first of his Asian Tour wins coming in the same country back in 2009, at the Indonesia President Invitation.
“You know, you work hard over a period of years, and you try to make your mind much more stable, much more stronger by doing different things - yoga, meditation, or whatever.
“These are the things that make you a better player over a period of years. And in my personal opinion, meditation has played a very important role.
“Over a period of years, I have done that pretty much every day. And probably that is one of the reasons that we can hold some of the pressure.”
Explaining his routine, he said: “It has been regular for the last, I would say, 20 years. I wake up early morning and every day I have eight to 10 minutes of meditation. And that has changed me over the period of years. I mellow down on the golf course. I end up controlling my emotions better on the course. I think that is one area where I've actually improved.”
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Over half of Bhullar’s 11 victories have come in Indonesia, and he’s putting a run together that suggests another win could be around the corner, after finishing T7 at the Black Mountain Championship and T19 at International Series Thailand.
Anyone who saw last year’s near flawless display will know that the Indian, who competed in this summer’s Olympics, is not to be underestimated. He said: “It's a great privilege to be back here in Indonesia. Last year was 24 under, and wire-to-wire. With this golf course, this country, it is so special to me. This country is always some sort of lucky charm for me. I ended up playing well last year, so yes, the preparations are very good. The last few weeks, I played decent. So, I think the game is coming back in shape and I’m looking forward to a positive result this week.”
The International Series is the most prized pathway in golf. It consists of 10 elite tournaments sanctioned by the Asian Tour and offers the year-long Rankings leader promotion to the LIV Golf League
