Panchkula (Haryana), Oct 28 (PTI) Chandigarh golfer Jairaj Singh Sandhu produced a flawless five-under 67 and then prevailed in a playoff with Honey Baisoya to clinch the Haryana Open title here on Saturday.
Jairaj (66-69-68-67), the leader on the first two days before he slipped to second place on day 3, held on to his nerves in the playoff with Baisoya (68-70-66-66), who shot a superb six-under 66 on the final day.
Heading into the playoff, Jairaj and seven-time winner Baisoya were tied at 18-under 270 at the end of the regulation 72 holes.
The left-handed Jairaj sank a five-footer for victory on the playoff hole to pick up a cheque worth Rs 15 lakh that lifted him 31 spots, from 44th to 13th, in the PGTI ranking.
Jairaj thus became the fifth first-time winner on the PGTI this season, the other four being Sachin Baisoya, Karan Pratap Singh, Sunhit Bishnoi and Harshjeet Singh Sethie.
Round three leader Akshay Sharma from Chandigarh, took the third spot at 16-under 272 following his fourth round of 71.
Yuvraj Singh Sandhu finished tied fourth at 15-under 273, while Angad Cheema was tied sixth at 12-under 276.
Jairaj, lying two shots off the lead in second place at the start of Round 4, made an early birdie on the second and followed it up with a couple of 25 to 30 feet conversions to add three more on the front-nine. He struck his last birdie of the day on the 15th.
Baisoya, who sat in tied-third spot and three off the lead at the start of the day, made a charge on the front-nine on Saturday by scoring five birdies. He then dropped a double-bogey on the 11th but roared back with an eagle on the 12th and birdies on the 16th and 17th.
Just when Baisoya was eyeing victory, he made a three-putt for bogey on the 18th. With Jairaj’s par on the 18th, the match went into playoff.
On the playoff hole, Jairaj closed out the match with another steady par, making a two-putt from 25 feet even as Baisoya made a second consecutive three-putt.
“Importantly, this week I achieved all the three goals that I had set for myself this season. I played in the leader group, shot a bogey-free round and won my first title. I hung in there through the week. I was in the top two positions from round one to four and maintained the consistency in my game,” said Jairaj after the win.
“It’s an overwhelming feeling and can’t be described.” Abhishek Kumar of Panchkula won the trophy for the best performing amateur.
Abhishek, one of the two amateurs to make the cut, finished the week in 51st place with a total of eight-over 296.
Source: PTI News
