Jaipur, 16-11-2024

Sachin Baisoya makes a comeback for the ages, clinches Rajasthan Tourism presents Jaipur Open 2024 title in marathon playoff against Rashid Khan

Sachin Baisoya made a comeback for the ages by clinching victory in a marathon playoff against Rashid Khan at the INR 1 crore Rajasthan Tourism presents Jaipur Open 2024 played at the Par-70 Rambagh Golf Club in Jaipur.

Both the Delhi-based professionals, Sachin Baisoya (65-65-64-64) and Rashid Khan (64-68-61-65) ended the regulation 72 holes with identical totals of 22-under 258 before locking horns in a titanic playoff tussle that lasted an astonishing five extra holes.

The 29-year-old Sachin finally sealed the deal with a three-feet birdie conversion following an extraordinary tee shot on the Par-3 second hole. Baisoya, involved in his first ever playoff, lifted his third career title on Saturday that earned him a prize money cheque worth INR 15 lakh thus pushing him up from sixth to fifth place in the TATA Steel PGTI Ranking.

Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma (67), Hyderabad’s Milind Soni (69) and Delhi’s Kshitij Naveed Kaul (70) took tied third place at 16-under 264.

Jaipur’s Prakhar Asawa finished tied 43rd at three-under 277.

Sachin Baisoya, overnight tied third and two off the lead, struck the last day’s joint best score of six-under 64 that got him into the playoff. After a slow start, Sachin opened his account with an eagle on the eighth and then added five birdies at the cost of just one bogey on the back-nine as both his hitting and short-game were top-class. Baisoya earned his place in the playoff after a mammoth 35-feet birdie conversion on the 18th.

Rashid Khan, who was overnight second and one off the lead, mixed six birdies with a bogey during his five-under 65 on Saturday. Rashid found the water hazard on the 18th but made a sensational recovery with an up and down to save par and make the playoff. Interestingly, Khan had won only two of his seven previous playoff encounters.

On the first four playoff holes, all played on the Par-5 18th hole, both players were level as they matched each other shot for shot including a 35-footer for par by Rashid on the first extra hole. The action then moved to the Par-3 second hole for the fifth extra hole. While Rashid found the bunker with his tee shot, Sachin landed it within three feet of the flag. Rashid’s exceptional bunker shot that stopped four feet from the hole was not good enough as Sachin sank his birdie putt from three feet to win the playoff and the title.

Sachin said, “My strategy from the start of the last round was to just enjoy myself and give it my best. After a slow start, the eagle on the eighth was a huge confidence-booster. That set the tone for the rest of my round.

“On the 18th in regulation play, I told myself that I have just one putt to make if I want to stand a chance of winning and I made that birdie putt from 35-feet. I was quite confident all through the playoff as my gameplan was to just find the fairway and green and make birdie, if possible, otherwise continue making par and stretching the playoff which would pile the pressure on Rashid too.

“After Rashid found the bunker on the final playoff hole (2nd hole), I knew hitting the green would be a huge advantage. I then executed my tee shot perfectly as I had visualized it. I’m delighted to win the first ever playoff that I have been involved in. Rashid and myself are good friends so we indulge in a lot of friendly banter when playing together. That kept the atmosphere light through the day.

“I would like to thank the seasoned Mukesh Kumar, who I refer to as Guruji, for his valuable advice and encouragement to me over the last two days. He told me I’ll win if I shoot a seven-under and it’ll be a playoff if I shoot a six-under on the final day. That’s exactly how it turned out.”

The five-hole playoff encounter fell just short of equaling the PGTI record of six holes played in a playoff between Aadil Bedi (winner) and Udayan Mane back in 2020 at Tollygunge Club in Kolkata.

Arjun Prasad, the leader for the first three rounds, carded a 76 on day four to finish tied 14th at 12-under 268.

Sukhraj Singh Gill, who fired a hole-in-one on the 11th hole in round two on Thursday, won himself Nissan’s recently updated New Magnite for his effort. Sukhraj received the keys of the New Nissan Magnite from Mr. Rajesh Srivastava, Head, Marketing Communications, Nissan India, during the tournament's prize distribution ceremony on Saturday.

Prize Presentation picture caption:

Champion Sachin Baisoya (3rd from right) receives the trophy and cheque from Mr. Yogendra Singh, Captain, Rambagh Golf Club (3rd from left). The other dignitaries seen in the picture are (L – R) Mr. Amandeep Johl, CEO-Designate, PGTI, Mr. Rajesh Srivastava, Head, Marketing Communications, Nissan India, Mr. Samridh Sharma, Secretary, Rambagh Golf Club & Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI.