(L-R) Devang Shah – MD, Navratna Group, Samir H Rawal – Vice President, Indorama Ventures, winner Sachin Baisoya, Farzan Heerjee – Golf Promoter, and Amandeep Johl – CEO, PGTI
For the 2nd successive week, a new title sponsor debuted on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI). First it was Indian behemoth Adani Group, whose event took place at Jaypee Greens in Greater Noida. Last week in Ahmedabad, it was Indorama Ventures, with a turnover of over US$15 billion, that made its first foray into golf. These new industrial giants’ entry into Indian golf bode well for the fortunes of India’s pro golfers.
Sachin Baisoya produced a final-round masterclass to win the inaugural ₹2 crore Indorama Ventures Open Golf Championship at the stunning Kalhaar Blues & Greens Golf Club in Ahmedabad from April 9-12. The 29-year-old overcame a seven-stroke deficit in the final round with the day’s lowest score of four-under 68 to defeat a faltering Udayan Mane in a sudden-death playoff.
For much of the final round, speculation centred around whether Olympian and 2020-21 PGTI Rankings winner Udayan Mane of Pune would add a 13th PGTI title to his impressive resume, when he started the day with a two-shot cushion. Mane had looked steady through the front-nine, but his game unravelled over the final half with 2 bogeys and 2 double-bogeys, dropping him into a share of the lead with Baisoya at 11-under, leading to a playoff.
Having missed the cut in four of his last five starts, Baisoya had come into the week as a dark horse. His father had also recently taken ill, due to which he had almost decided to skip the event, but he encouraged Baisoya to compete.
The win comes as Baisoya’s fourth professional title and second playoff win, vaulting from 11th to 2nd in the PGTI Rankings with total earnings of ₹44,65,650 till now.
“My confidence was down over the last few weeks but my uncle and former professional Vinod Kumar helped me a lot by correcting a few things as far as my hitting was concerned. I also received valuable tips from my mentor and fellow professional Manav Jaini”, Baisoya said.
5-time PGTI winner Khalin Joshi of Bangalore recorded a 3rd-place finish at 10-under. Faridabad’s Abhinav Lohan finished fourth, while local favourite Varun Parikh and Chandigarh’s Ajeetesh Sandhu shared fifth at eight-under to round off the Top-5.
The tour rolls forward to Delhi this week with another new sponsor at the inaugural ₹1 crore Callance Open taking place this week from April 15-18 at the Qutab Golf Course in Delhi.