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WGC HSBC CHAMPIONSOctober 31, 2012Gaganjeet BhullarSHENZHEN, CHINA CHUAH CHOO CHIANG: We have Gaganjeet Bhullar in here, thanks for coming in. I think first of all just tell us about your adventure of arriving in Mission Hills, because I believe you just arrived last night. GAGANJEET BHULLAR: Yeah, a tough call with the visa. It took me a day and a half to do my Chinese business visa in Hong Kong but that's fine. This was expected. I've been out of my country for the last 2 1/2 months and I knew that I have to do this only in Hong Kong. That's all part of life, but as a golfer, we do keep on getting troubles like this. But the end of the day, if you make it to the week, it's more important. CHUAH CHOO CHIANG: Despite the troubles, I think your second HSBC Champions, with the form you're in the last two months, I'm sure you must be feeling rather confident going into the week. GAGANJEET BHULLAR: Yeah, definitely. The game is coming back and I'm striking the ball really good. At this time I'm really high on confidence, and you never know, I always say golf is a funny game, and you never know, it could be anybody's game. Golf is no longer being played only in America or Europe. It's a global sport and guys from all over the world are winning all over the world. I think it's a great inspiration for us, for guys to come and play in HSBC Champions. In the past, a lot of Asians have done well. I remember Y.E. Yang winning this tournament. I saw him on television. Yeah, it could be anybody's week, and I walked the golf course today, looking very nice, and kind of suits my aye. Q. I believe that you've now played 12 weeks in a row and you still look fresh as a daisy, actually. Is it your fitness or just the fact that you're playing so well that you are just excited to go from one week to another? GAGANJEET BHULLAR: Well, I think a lot of things are putting together. Of course, the fitness, because you know, at this level, fitness is very important. And I have been working on my fitness the last four and a half years, and now I can feel the difference. And the other thing is, you know, I'm only 24 years old and I have nothing to do back home, and I just love being on Tour. I mean, every week we get to see different countries, different people, lovely food to eat and Asian Tour, European Tour, this is the destination for all of the golfers in this part of the world. More than golf, I just love being on different venues. Q. I was just thinking that Asian players previously seem to be in awe of Americans and the top Europeans, but your generation, sounds as though you were saying, it could be anybody's week; that you generally feel you're on a par with these players now. GAGANJEET BHULLAR: See, the thing is, it's all about mental strength. And I think on gone are the days when Asians used to be really happy playing in this part of the word. If you look Arjun Atwal, he went out there on the PGA TOUR and made a name for himself and became the first Indian to win on the PGA TOUR. He's been competing at that level for the six, seven years. Jeev Milkha Singh has broken inside the Top‑50 in the world a few times. I think golf is no longer played in one part of the world; it's just a global game, and I think the guys from this part of the world are really improving their game. And a very dear friend of mine knows Noh from Korea. I met him last week and he said he's really riding high on confidence. He could be winning soon on the PGA TOUR. So of course, these guys are improving and mentally we are getting ready to compete on the PGA TOUR. Q. The Chinese golfers were saying that there's perhaps not enough playing opportunities for them in China. Do you think that's the reason why Chinese players have not really been doing it on the international stage? GAGANJEET BHULLAR: I don't really agree with you. You know, we both have played junior golf together and we both have played amateur golf together and then we turned pro at the same time. Yeah, I think he's right, because in this part of the world, in China, the local tour is not that strong and they need to go out on the Asian Tour to compete. Apart from that, I think there are a lot of other reasons. It could be sponsorship. And then, you know, your mental strength at the end of the day, Liang Wen‑Chong has made a big name for himself. He started on the Asian Tour, won the Order of Merit and then moved on to the Japanese Tour. Yeah, there are not too many tournaments for the Chinese player in China, but conditions are improving, every year more tournaments are heading to the calendar and I think it's good for the Chinese players. Q. The next three weeks are very important for you, HSBC, Singapore and Hong Kong. You are contending for the Asian Tour Order of Merit and you are contending for your own European Tour Membership, you're an affiliate member, and obviously you have an aye on the World Rankings where you are fast improving. Can you just give me an idea of what your own realistic ambitions are going towards the end of the year? GAGANJEET BHULLAR: Well, to be honest, right now I'm not thinking anything. I'm only taking one shot at a time, and I think that kind of attitude has been helping me the last few months, because I've realised last year, I travelled too much around the world: I did Japan, America Q‑School and back to Asia. So I spent a lot of time on the aircraft rather thanking on the driving range. So I'm not going to do this this year. I'm trying to concentrate on one thing at a time and I think that kind of attitude is really helping me. Yeah, if you look at the next few big weeks, this week, Barclays, UBS, yeah, the next few weeks can definitely change my playing privileges for the next few years. That is definitely there in the back of my mind, but right now, I think it's only one shot at a time, and just visualise the shot and execute it, as simple as that. CHUAH CHOO CHIANG: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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