Bhullar blown away in the wind, ends 9th at Taiwan Masters

Taipei: Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar was quite literally blown away by the wind as he tumbled to a 76 to finish tied ninth from overnight fifth at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters here today.

Bhullar, who was looking at having a shot at yet another top-five finish, ended at five-over 293. Meanwhile, overnight leader Tsai Chi-huang (76) of Chinese Taipei won the Mercuries Taiwan Masters for the second time in his career despite shooting a final round of four-over 76 on Sunday. Anirban Lahiri (76) finished tied 25th at nine-over 297 and his four rounds were 71, 75, 75 and 76 as he dropped from overnight 14th. Tsai started the day with a six-shot lead, courtesy a 65 in the third round, and preserved his advantage as he defeated closest rival Antonio Lascuna of the Philippines, who shot a 73, by four shots with a winning total of four-under 284 at the Taiwan Golf and Country Club. Rookie David Lipsky of the United States, who won his first Asian Tour title earlier this year, shot a 67, the best score of the day, to tie with Chan Yih-shin of Chinese Taipei (71) in third place at the USD 600,000 Asian Tour event. Tsai endured a sleepless night as he had doubts of winning the tournament. With only a three-hour night`s rest, he struggled early in the round as he was four-over after 15 holes but gained some momentum when he sank a huge 30-foot birdie putt on 16. Chan, a two-time Asian Tour winner, narrowed Tsai`s lead to two shots at one point but slipped back with a bogey on 16 and a double bogey on 18. He took pride in his performance this week which ended an uncharacteristic run of 10 straight missed cuts on the Asian Tour. Lipsky, who won the Asian Tour Qualifying School earlier this year, rode on his luck as he was five-under after 11 holes which included three straight birdies from the fourth hole. His only blemish came on 12 which he wrote off with another birdie on 15. PTI