Thongchai Jaidee wins Wills Indian Open

Overnight leader, Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee birdied the 72nd hole in a nail biting finish to win the US$50,010 top prize at the Wills Indian Open, which concluded at the Classic Golf Resort, in Gurgaon, on Sunday afternoon.

The former soldier was paired with Scotsman Ross Bain, who started the day one stroke behind. After a seesaw battle, both golfers were tied at 16-under-par till the 18th hole, which Jaidee birdied to gain the one-stroke advantage and win.

The Indian challenge was led by 1999 champion Arjun Atwal, who followed his 68 on Saturday with a bogey-free 66 to finish in third place, tied with Springbok Chris Williams at 12-under-par.

Defending champion Jyoti Randhawa failed to find his winning form and ended in a disappointing tie for 15th place despite being tied for the lead at the halfway stage of the tournament.

Spectators were treated to a high quality two-man contest between Jaidee and Bain, the final pairing of the tournament. To begin the round, Thongchai immediately got to work with birdies on the third, fourth and ninth holes and Ross Bain matched him birdie for birdie with birdies on the same holes. From thereon, Bain got charged and birdied the 10th and 11th holes to take a one-stroke lead, as Jaidee made pars on both. The 12th was another common birdie hole as they both made three’s and Ross continued to lead.

Thereafter, it was Thongchai who made a move. He first birdied the par-five 14th to tie Ross at 16-under-par, both golfers pared the par-three 17th hole and headed to the par-five final hole. However, Bain faltered as he hit his drive into the fairway bunker, from where he hit it to the right rough and back into the greenside bunker with his third. Thongchai maintained his cool throughout, hit a long iron to the green and made a comfortable two-putt to win the title.

"I came here with a very relaxed frame of mind and have been putting well and hitting the ball well," said an excited Thongchai.

This is the Thai golfer's second victory on the Asian PGA tour, the first being the Kolon Cup Korean Open that he won last year. Jaidee has been close often enough, and started the year with a second place finish at the Thailand Masters in Bangkok. He then continued his good form, finishing ninth in the Malaysian Open, 28th at the Singapore Masters and 29th at the Dubai Desert Classic, earlier this month. Last year he finished sixth on the order of merit, with total earnings of US$155,516, earned in 18 events.

His closest competitor, Ross Bain gave him a run for his money, as he matched him hole for hole and maintained the pressure.

"I played the first 12 holes really well and it also felt great to play the last hole well," said Bain after making par from the left bunker with the pin cut near it, on the final hole.

"I can only congratulate Jaidee, he is a great golfer," he added.

This is the best finish for Bain who in his second year on the Asian PGA tour and this second place finish has helped him ensure his card for another year.

Arjun Atwal, who had decided to come out here and shoot a low round today, carded a 66 to tie Chris Williams, who carded a 68 today, to take their 72 hole total to 12-under-parand tie for third place.

"I had a slow start but am happy that I played well. I kept it going and got it back on the weekend. However my irons weren’t very good but I putted well, no three-putts," said the 1999 Indian Open champion.

Meanwhile, Jyoti Randhawa who started the week atop the leaderboard, could not maintain the momentum over the weekend. "I did not play well over the weekend and just couldn’t get things going," said last year's winner. He followed up yesterdays 72 with a two-over-par 74 today to drop to 15th place, tied with Brad Kennedy, Jeff Burns, Nico Van Rensburg, Robert Huxtable and Simon Yates.

Meanwhile, Jaidee's plans for the future include qualifying for the US tour and he also has plans to visit the Leadbetter Golf Academy.

"I saw Prayad Marksaeng's game, he is very consistent, and thought that I would like to go their and train as well," he adds.

Other than a creditable professional record, Thongchai also has an excellent amateur record. He has won the Singapore, Thailand and Pakistan Amateur Opens, won the individual title in the Putra Cup and was on the team that won the South East Asian Games before he turned to professional golf.

Of the 16 Indians that made the cut, the most notable finish was by Delhi’s Arjun Singh who carded a final 69 for a 279, nine-under-par total for his first top ten finish on the APGA tour in over six months. Singh has been recovering from a shoulder injury and seems to have made the final breakthrough to recover his confidence.

Indrajit Bhalotia at 24th place, Rohtas Singh and Harmeet Kahlon in 32nd were among the other Indians who finished the four round event under par. Another Delhi favourite, Vivek Bhandari, a multiple winner on the Indian Tour finished with a 71 and ended in a tie for 29th place.