Sizzling Baisoya equals course record; grabs sole lead

Honey Baisoya carded a phenomenal 64 to grab a three-shot lead at the KGA.

Bengaluru, November 16: Weigh the pros and cons and you might be close to selecting the favourites. But that’s as far as one can get. Golf is notoriously known as that sport which has sprung up surprise winners and leaders time and again. And living up to its true nature, the second day of the inaugural Bengaluru Open Golf Championship saw a complete overhaul of the leader-group at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA), as Delhi golfer Honey Baisoya set the course on fire as he equalled the course record with a sizzling 64.

While the five overnight leaders slipped down the leaderboard, Baisoya, who had started the day a shot behind the leaders, carded a fiery on the second day to grab sole lead. Three shots behind the leader was Udayan Mane, who jumped up from tied 14th to sit second on the leaderboard.

Baisoya, who turned in a card of eight-under-64 for the day, got off on a positive note, saving four shots on the front nine, while dropping only one. The highlight of his round though was that the pro matched the course record of 8-under in a professional event. Incidentally on the day Baisoya was grouped with Amardip Singh Malik, who held the course record. Malik had set the course record back in 2010 at the Bilt Open.

Honey Baisoya smashes phenomenal 64 for three-shot lead at Bengaluru Open Golf Championship sponsored by... https://t.co/WrEAvYioCQ
— PGTI (@PGTITOUR) November 16, 2017

The Delhi golfer, who was playing in a group clubbed along with Malik and seasoned pro Jyoti Randhawa, would have broken the course record, had it not been for his only dropped shot on the seventh hole in the front nine. But taking the turn, Baisoya, sitting fifth on the current Order of Merit, went on a rampage as he started of with an eagle. Though starting the hole, the pro looked in danger as he was just a little short of the bunker, but from there on he chipped it in for an eagle.

With two wins already in his pocket this season, Baisoya set himself up in contention for another, but as one always knows anything can happen, what with two more rounds to go! Apart from the eagle, Baisoya carded three more birdies on the back nine to turn in a total score of 13-under-131.

Baisoya who had missed the cut on the last event at the Take Open last month, is content with his game, but is not getting his hopes up as there are still two more rounds to go. Incidentally, the Delhi golfer, who had turned pro five years back at the age of 16, won his first PGTI title, a year back on Nov. 19th in Shillong. He has pocketed four titles over the past one year.

Happy to have grabbed sole lead, Baisoya said, “My putting was on fire today. It’s actually working really well for me and the course is also playing well. Hence I have been able to turn in good scores on both days. This is one of my best rounds, last year I had carded a similar round in Assam (he went on to win his second title in Assam). I do not have any plans for tomorrow and I am not thinking too much as there are still two rounds to go and anything can happen.”

After the end of his round when the golfer was turning in his scores, Randhawa, who was playing along with him in the same group, chipped in and said, “You played my round today!” Talking about playing with the seasoned pro, Baisoya said it was a learning experience. “He has always been my idol. I have grown up watching him play and it was inspiring to watch him play,” stated the 21-year-old.

Meanwhile local golfer Udayan Mane who has shifted base to Ahmedabad, and has been in fine form this season with two wins in his pocket, played a classy round, turning in a card of seven-under-65 on Thursday (November 16).

Mane, who is second on the Order of Merit list, started off the day slow with only two birdies on the front nine on the 2nd and 5th hole, while he dropped a shot on the 8th. The Bengaluru golfers back nine was more exciting as he saved a flurry of shots to jump up the leaderboard. Mane carded five back-to-back birdies, starting on the 11th till the 15th, before finishing off with a birdie on the final hole.

Having climbed up the board Mane said, “My putting made all the difference today . The momentum kept building on the front-nine as I felt increasingly confident with the putter. This is my best score at KGA till date and puts me in a good position ahead of the last two rounds. Though I have shifted base to Ahmedabad, I still feel pretty much at home here in Bengaluru and am confident of doing well this week.”

Overnight leaders S Chikkarangappa, Sujjan Singh, Himmat Singh Rai, Anura Rohana and Shamim Khan, all lost their grip on the lead on Thursday. Karnataka golfer Chikka, slipped to tied 9th along with Order of Merit leader Shamim Khan. Both Chikka and Shamim turned in an even par card on the day.

Sujjan Singh turned in a score of two-under-70 to finish third on the day, while Rai carded a score of one-under to finish tied fourth along with Harendra Gupta and Abhijit Singh Chadha. Another overnight leader slipped further down to tied 15th, after carding a score of two-over-74 on the second day.

On the other hand, seasoned golfer Jyoti Randhawa was clearly having an off day as the Delhi golfer looked out of sorts with his hitting off the mark. After a good week on the Asian Tour last week in Manila, Randhawa ended the tournament early at KGA as he missed the cut.

The cut fell at two-over-146, with 57 pros making it to the weekend rounds.

Local favourite Chikka leads pack of five on opening day Local favourite Chikka leads pack of five on opening day