Chandigarh’s Angad Cheema on his way to a career-best 11 under par round and the event lead on day two of the Telangana Open at Vooty Golf County in Vikarabad on Wednesday. Image courtesy DP World/PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Angad Cheema produced a career-best round at Vooty Golf County to hold a two-shot lead after 36 holes of the Rs 1 crore Telangana Open on Wednesday.
The lanky Chandigarh golfer was bogey-free in his 11 under par 61 on the day even with preferred lies in effect following overnight rain to total 13 under 131, the DP World PGTI said.
Cheema (79-61) opened with a birdie and then made five more in succession from hole three through till seven to be six-under through seven holes.
After four consecutive pars, he chipped in for eagle on the par-five 12th to pick up momentum again before adding a further three birdies to his unblemished card.
Delhi’s Rashid Khan, who set out in tied third one shot behind overnight co-leaders Manu Gandas and Akshay Sharma, followed his opening 6 under 66 with a 67 to hold second place on 11 under 133.
Cheema, a four-time winner on the DP World PGTI who finished runner-up at last week’s Kolar Open, was delighted to improve on his previous best score of 10-under.
Exceptional run
“An 11-under round is definitely the lowest score I have ever shot,” said Cheema.
“I’m not sure which performance I would rate higher, but today was an exceptional round. I was six-under through seven holes, so at that stage I felt an even lower score might be possible.”
The four consecutive pars from the eighth through the 11th briefly slowed his charge, but the chip-in eagle provided the spark for another scoring spree.
“The chip-in gave the round fresh momentum and got me going again on the back nine,” Cheema said. “I struck the ball extremely well, holed a lot of putts and missed only one fairway all day.”
The 36-year-old believes accuracy off the tee will be crucial over the weekend, with thick rough and wind presenting the main challenges.
“The rough is very punishing, but the greens are receptive,” he noted. “If you find the fairway, you have a good chance to attack the pins. There are also several holes where you need to play smart.”
Eventful day
Rashid’s eventful round featured eagles on the par-four third and par-five fifth. He converted from about 20 feet for the first before striking a three-wood to eight feet and holing the putt on the fifth.
“Those two eagles gave the round a lot of momentum,” said Rashid later.
“On the third, I hit my approach to about 20 feet and made the putt. On the fifth, I hit a three-wood to around eight feet and converted that as well.”
Despite the two eagles, Rashid felt his score could have been lower after missing several chances and three-putting the sixth and ninth for two of his three bogeys.
He later birdied holes 12, 15 and 16, with his longest birdie conversion coming from around 12 feet on 15, before dropping a final shot on 17.
“I missed quite a few putts, so the score could have been even better,” he said. “But my game is improving with each round.
“I’m not trying to force anything. I’m responding to the situation, playing the shot that is required and keeping things straightforward.”
Hyderabad’s 19-year-old Vishesh Sharma (66-68), who recently returned to competition following a two-week illness, was third on 10 under 134.
His four-under for the day had an eagle on hole three, four birdies and two bogeys.
Surging back
Overnight co-leader Sharma (65-70) of Chandigarh shared fourth place on 9 under 135 with Gurgaon’s Dhruv Sheoran (68-67) and Sri Lanka’s resurgent Mithun Perera (70-65).
Perera, who has come out of retirement to compete again this season, produced a bogey-free 65 featuring seven birdies.
Gandas (65-71). the other co-leader, dropped into a five-way tie for seventh on 8 under 136.
DP World PGTI Rankings leader Saptak Talwar (72-68) was tied for 23rd on 4 under 140.
The cut fell at one-under 143, with 50 from the field of 131 going through to the final two rounds.
Also read: Sharma, Gandas share early clubhouse lead at Telangana Open
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