By Rahul Banerji
Jamal Hossain’s tryst with victory at Chandigarh remained unfulfilled as Sachin Baisoya played a flawless final round to win the Rs 1.5 crore Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational on Sunday.
Delhi’s Baisoya (66-68-71-67), lying overnight second and three off the lead, produced three birdies and an eagle over the final 18 holes for a tournament total of 16-under 272, the PGTI said.
It was a second career title for the 28-year-old, and also his second of the season. Baisoya earned a handsome Rs 22.5 lakh to move from third to second in the Tata Steel PGTI Ranking.
The Delhi Golf Club pro now has season’s earnings of Rs 63.46 lakh and trails leader and close friend Om Prakash by nearly Rs 21 lakh.
Chandigarh’s Abhijit Singh Chadha (70-66-70-67), like Baisoya, also brought in an error-free card of 67, to move up one place and end the week in tied second at 15-under 273 alongside 54-hole leader Hossain as the highest-placed local golfer.
Dhaka’s Hossain (65-68-69-71) let slip his three-shot advantage and carded a 71 on Sunday as he was overtaken by Baisoya early on at the Chandigarh Golf Club.
A focused Baisoya picked up birdies on the third, fifth and ninth holes, the last two from between 12 and 15 feet, to catch up with Jamal.
Baisoya, who also made as many as four quality par saves during his round, surged ahead after his eagle conversion from 25 feet on hole 13. There was no looking back for him from there on.
Staying focused
Sachin, who was second behind Jamal for the first three rounds, said, “At the start of the day, I just told myself to focus, play my own game and not get too aggressive and the birdies will come.
“That will in turn help me wipe out the lead. That’s exactly what happened. Then after the eagle on the 13th I was in a very relaxed frame of mind.
“I made some great up and downs through the day and played my best shot of the day on the 16th where I hooked it around a tree and almost made the green to save par. I took inspiration from my win at the Tollygunge Club earlier this year.
“The win is a huge confidence-booster for me and this season is turning out to be very special.”
Three-time international winner Rahil Gangjee also shot a 67, the day’s joint lowest score, to take fourth place on 14-under 274 while Noida’s Gaurav Pratap Singh was fifth on 275.
Angad Cheema (69) was the second Chandigarh-based professional to finish inside the top-10 with seventh place on 10-under 278 while Chouhan (68) was tied eighth on 9-under 279.
Tournament host Jeev Milkha Singh (72-70-72-73) closed the week in tied 37th at 1-under 287.
Chandigarh’s K. Raghav Bhandari took home the plate as best-placed amateur in 43rd on 1-over 289.
Final top five
272: Sachin Baisoya (66-68-71-67)
273: Abhijit Singh Chadha (70-66-70-67); Jamal Hossain (65-68-69-71)
274: Rahil Gangjee (72-66-69-67)
275: Gaurav Pratap Singh (71-69-68-67)
Also read: Jamal extends lead despite late wobble at Jeev Invitational
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