Bhullar and Quayle shared 11 birdies and three eagles in a thrilling final round duel while Els added an eagle and six birdies for his first top-10 finish since June, 2016.

New Zealand’s Ben Campbell, leader after the first and second rounds, tied Els in third place at 12-under while Australian Jarryd Felton was fifth two shots back.

The par-5 17th played a big part in the theater of the final round as Quayle and Bhullar made back-to-back eagles. Quayle had taken the lead at 13-under as he played his first 14 holes in 7-under par and had picked up nine shots in 13 holes when he eagled the 17th.

But the 30-year-old Bhullar snatched back the lead when he chipped in from 40 meters at the 17th just as Quayle reached the clubhouse. A par at the last was enough to retain the lead and to give him his fourth Asian Tour title in three seasons.

“To be honest, I was mentally prepared for that,” Bhullar said. “I knew somebody or another had to go low... Even Ernie Els, he’s a legend, he was playing really well.

“I still had hopes. I still had kind of a feeling that I can still win the tournament, but I think that chip-in on No. 17, that pretty much closed out the day.”

Four-time major winner Els gave notice of his challenge with an eagle at the par-5 first which put him within a shot of the lead.

“I did almost as much as I could,” Els said. “I set out to try to shoot 65, which I did, and Anthony just played unbelievable. Jeez, what is it, 29 on the back nine? That’s unbelievable stuff.”