Jaipur Open 2024: Baisoya makes a grand comeback to clinch title in marathon playoff against Rashid Khan

Jaipur (Rajasthan): Sachin Baisoya made a comeback for the ages by clinching victory in a marathon playoff against Rashid Khan in the INR 1 crore Jaipur Open 2024 played at the Par-70 Rambagh Golf Club here on Saturday. 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 Baisoya 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 which earned him a prize money cheque worth INR 15 lakh, thus pushing him up from sixth to fifth place in the PGTI Ranking.

Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma (67), Hyderabad’s Milind Soni (69) and Delhi’s Kshitij Naveed Kaul (70) finished in 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 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-foot birdie conversion on the 18th.

Rashid Khan, who was overnight second and one off the lead, mixed six birdies with a bogey during his 65 on Friday. He found the water hazard on the 18th but made a sensational recovery with an up-and-down shot to save par and make the playoff. 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, Baisoya 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 Baisoya sank his birdie putt from three feet to win the playoff and the title.

“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,” Baisoya said.

“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 game plan 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,” he said.

“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’d win if I shot a seven-under and it’d be a playoff if I shot a six-under on the final day. That’s exactly how it turned out,” Baisoya concluded.

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 to the New Nissan Magnite from Mr. Rajesh Srivastava, Head, Marketing and Communications, Nissan India, during the tournament’s prize distribution ceremony on Saturday.

–IANS