SRINAGAR: Honey Baisoya of Delhi ended a three-year title-drought by lifting the J&K Open at the Royal Springs Golf Course in Srinagar with an impressive total of 18-under 270 including a classy final round of four-under 68 on Saturday.
Baisoya skyrocketed his ranking from 85th to 22nd place in the PGTI Order of Merit. Gurugram-based Veer Ahlawt finished second event while as Patna’s Aman Raj managed to secure the third place.
Honey was struggling even in the start of the season as he missed the cut at Hyderabad Golconda Masters and skipped Panchkula Players Championship but a change in iron, a 2-iron and a putter, brought the desired difference with first three round scores of 67, 68, and 66 here.
The six-time PGTI winner who turned pro in 2013 triumphed with four-shot lead ahead of Veer Ahlawat of Gurugram (67-71-70-66) who finished with 14-under 274 for his successive runner-up finish this season.
Honey, 25, who gained Rs 6,46,600 for his effort also took him from 85th to 22nd place in the PGTI Order of Merit.
Secretary Tourism and Culture, Sarmad Hafeez said that J&K is fast coming up as a ‘golfing capital’ of the country. These remarks were made by him as a chief guest on the concluding ceremony of the 4-day J&K Open 2021 golf tournament that began here on 15th of this month.
Sarmad said that golf courses of J&K are among best in the country. He claimed that these courses have been upgraded substantially and can even host international tournaments in future. He maintained that the game has tremendous future here and UT is getting recognition as best golfing destination for its facilities extended for the game.
The Secretary further urged all the participants of the tournament to come here very often to play in the beautiful environs and climate of J&K. He assured them of all the assistance and best of facilities available world over for the game. He also invited PGTI (Professional Golf Tour of India) to make J&K a permanent destination in their calendar for organizing professional tournaments round the year.
The prominent players who participated in this tournament includes Olympian Udayan Mane, Indian ace golfer Jyoti Randhawa and PGTI Order of Merit leader Karandeep Kochhar besides other 125 golfers which includes both international, national and local players.
Director Tourism, GN Itoo and Secretary, RSGC, Bakshi Humayun Javid were also present on the occasion besides other players and lovers of the game.
