Honey Baisoya wins Chief Minister's Meghalaya Open Golf

Delhi-lad Honey Baisoya shot a resolute four-under-66 in the final round of the Rs 40 lakh Chief Minister's Meghalaya Open Golf 2nd edition today by two shots with a tournament tally of nine-under-271.
Chandigarh's Harendra Gupta returned a 69 in round four to take the second spot at seven-under-273 at the Shillong Golf Course.
Baisoya (70-68-67-66), who was one off the lead after round three, erased the overnight deficit with ease by producing the final day's best score of 66 thereby joining the winner's circle on the PGTI.
Baisoya, only 20-years-old but playing his fourth season as a professional, had come close to winning a few times in the past before he finally nailed it with a determined effort in front of a huge gallery.

The Delhi lad was steady through the front-nine making a birdie and two good par saves, both from 15 feet, on the eighth and ninth.
However, it was the 10-feet eagle conversion on the 10th that really powered him ahead of his nearest rivals Harendra Gupta, Shankar Das and Om Prakash Chouhan, all of whom were struggling to hit the right notes.

Baisoya, who had five previous top-10s to his credit this year including a runner-up finish at Chennai, held on to his advantage with another good par save from 10 feet on the 11th. A 30-feet birdie conversion on the 15th made Honey the favourite for the title even though he underwent some anxious moments after the bogey on the next hole.

Baisoya finally drove the green on the par-4 17th for his final birdie of the day that ensured him victory.
Baisoya, who took home the winner's cheque of Rs 6,00,000 has now jumped up from 15th place to fifth position in the Rolex Ranking.
Harendra Gupta (71-69-64-69), the joint overnight leader, struggled with his ball-striking on the final day and thus couldn't pose a serious challenge to Baisoya. He mixed four birdies with three bogeys in his final round 69 to secure second place.
Kolkata's Shankar Das (70) and Om Prakash Chouhan (73) of Mhow, the other two joint leaders from round three, slipped on the last day to finish third at six-under-274 and fourth at three-under-277 respectively.