Gaganjeet Bhullar finished final day with a disappointing two-over 74 as he totalled a poor one-over 289 to finish a lowly tied 63rd at the end of the WGC-HSBC Champions on Sunday.
It was indeed disappointing for Bhullar, who at one stage was as high as tied fourth towards the end of the second round. The collapse at the end of the second round is something he was unable to recover from.
Dustin Johnson kept at bay the challenges of defending champion Ian Poulter and Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell by staging a late comeback with a final round six-under-par 66 to win his first WGC title.
Trailing by one shot with six holes to play, the Ryder Cup star proved his title credentials by firing three birdies and an eagle to seal a three-shot victory with his winning total of 24-under-par 264 at the Sheshan International Golf Club.
Poulter had to settle for second place after he closed with a 66 while McDowell also signed for a 66 to finish in third place. China's Liang Wen-chong emerged as the highest-ranked Asian after he also posted a 66 to take a share of 15th place with Major winner Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa at the year's final World Golf Championship.
"I stuck to my game plan, and obviously I played really well on the last few holes of the front nine and had a great back nine. But the guys, they made it really interesting, and you know, I just played really good coming down the stretch," said Johnson."
"This is probably my biggest win, and with the field and the tournament, World Golf Championships, hopefully this is a sign of better things to come," added the American.
Bhullar, who is ranked third on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, knows he has the game to compete on the global stage by virtue of his entry into this week's US$8.5 million showpiece featuring 40 of the world's top 50 players.
"I know I've what it takes to play against these players. It's just a matter of believing in myself and having a really good week," said Bhullar.
"You've got to be playing really well to feature in this week's WGC-HSBC Champions and I've shown that by being here.
