Ajeetesh finishes tied 5th at open golf meet

Ajeetesh Sandhu from the city (71) finished tied fifth at 8-under 280, while Delhi’s Sachin Baisoya registered a come-from-behind victory to lift the trophy at the Rs 2 crore Indorama Ventures Open Golf Championship-2025 played at Kalhaar Blues & Greens Golf Club in Ahmedabad.

Baisoya, who began the final day seven shots behind the lead in tied fifth place, trumped Pune’s Udayan Mane in a playoff after posting the day’s best score of four-under 68. The 29-year-old (68-71-70-68), who had decided not to play this week’s event due to his father’s ill health before being persuaded by the latter to tee it up in Ahmedabad, was tied at the top along with 34-year-old Udayan Mane (69-65-68-75) at a total of 11-under 277 at the end of the regulation 72 holes. Baisoya, who has so far won both playoffs he has been a part of, thus recorded his fourth professional victory.

Mane, the overnight leader by two shots, returned the last round of 75 after dropping five strokes on the last six holes that also saw Baisoya rise into contention.

Sachin fared better in negotiating the tricky pin position on the playoff hole (par-4 18th) as he made par with a two-putt even as Udayan conceded a fatal bogey on the same hole.

The winner’s cheque for Rs 30 lakh catapulted Sachin, who hails from the Delhi Golf Club, from 11th place to the second position in the PGTI Order of Merit.

Khalin Joshi of Bengaluru carded a 74 on Saturday to finish third at 10-under 278. Faridabad’s Abhinav Lohan struck a fourth round of 72 to secure the fourth place at nine-under 279. Abhinav was a prime contender for the title when he joined Udayan in the lead on the back-nine in round four. However, a late bogey and double-bogey sent him out of contention.

Baisoya made steady progress through the day to climb up the leaderboard. Sachin garnered three birdies and a bogey on the front-nine, two of his birdies coming as a result of long conversions. Baisoya then pushed ahead with an exceptional approach on the 10th and a massive 35-ft conversion on the 11th that earned him two more birdies. He finally capitalised on his good putting form with two well-read putts on the playoff hole that won him the title.

“I was playing well from the very start today. Therefore, I was quite confident of going into the playoff,” he said.

“With today’s challenging pin position on the 18th where the slope came into play, I told myself not to make any mistake during the playoff and look for a par. If I had to lose after making a par, I wouldn’t mind that. But there was no scope to be overly aggressive and drop a shot in the process. 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. As a result, my hitting improved drastically this week,” said Baisoya.

Olympian Udayan Mane, a winner of 12 titles and former PGTI Order of Merit champion, was well on course to victory after making three birdies and a bogey over the first 12 holes. However, in a dramatic late twist, he conceded two double-bogeys and a bogey over the last six holes that took the match into a playoff.