Vikarabad, August 26: Angad Cheema delivered an impressive performance at the Telangana Open 2026, scoring a career-best, bogey-free 11-under 61 in the second round. This remarkable feat has placed him at the top with a total score of 13-under 131, giving him a two-shot lead. The tournament, boasting a prize pool of ₹1 crore, is being held at the Vooty Golf County.
Cheema, hailing from Chandigarh, showcased his skills under the ‘preferred lies’ rule following rain. He kicked off his round with a birdie on the first hole and then made five consecutive birdies from the third to the seventh holes, achieving an impressive 6-under through just seven holes. After four straight pars, he regained momentum with a chip-in eagle on the par-5 12th hole, followed by three additional birdies.
Delhi’s Rashid Khan scored 5-under 67, placing him second with an 11-under 133 total. He started the day tied for third.
Cheema expressed his delight in improving his previous best score of 10-under. Although his pace slowed with four pars from the eighth to the eleventh holes, the eagle on the 12th hole reignited his scoring.
Rashid’s exciting round included eagles on the third (par-4) and fifth (par-5) holes. He successfully made a shot from nearly 20 feet on the third hole and followed up with an eight-foot putt on the fifth hole.
Despite two eagles, Rashid felt he could have scored even lower, missing several opportunities and three-putting on the sixth and ninth holes. He later secured birdies on the 12th, 15th, and 16th holes, including a notable 12-foot birdie on the 15th, though he dropped a shot on the 17th.
Nineteen-year-old Special Sharma from Hyderabad, returning to competition after a two-week illness, finished third with a score of 10-under 134. His four-under 68 included an eagle on the par-5 third hole, four birdies, and two bogeys.
Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma (65-70), who was tied for the lead on the first day, shared fourth place with Gurugram’s Dhruv Shyoran (68-67) and Sri Lanka’s Mithun Pereira (70-65), all at nine-under 135.
Pereira, who returned from retirement this season, scored 65 with seven birdies and no bogeys. Manu Gandas, who was also tied for the lead after the first round, ended up tied for seventh with a score of eight-under 136.
Currently leading the PGTI rankings, Saptak Talwar (72-68) is tied for 23rd with a score of four-under 140. The cut was set at one-under 143, allowing 50 out of 131 players to advance to the final two rounds.
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