Hyderabad teenager Vishesh Sharma continued a recent run of impressive form by matching the course record to co-lead the Telangana Golconda Masters at the HGA course on Tuesday. Image courtesy DP World PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Teenager Vishesh Sharma struck a course-record equalling score to share the day one lead in the Telangana Golconda Masters with Dhruv Sheoran in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
Local favourite Vishesh and Gurgaon’s Sheoran submitted cards of 10 under par 60 in the Rs 1 crore event being played at the Hyderabad Golf Association course, the DP World PGTI said.
The duo led Noida’s Amardeep Malik (61) by one shot on the par-70 course that winds its way through parts of Hyderabad’s famed Golconda Fort.
Thirty-one-year-old Sheoran made 11 birdies against a solitary bogey to register the lowest score of his career on Tuesday.
A winner on the DP World PGTI in 2024, he entered the week ranked 12th in the Race to DP World India Championship.
Starting from the par-five 10th, Sheoran made five consecutive birdies till the 14th before dropping his only shot of the day on the par-four 15th.
He recovered immediately and remained bogey-free for the rest of his round.
Matching effort
Hyderabad’s 19-year-old Vishesh, in his second season on the DP World PGTI, matched Sheoran in the afternoon with a 60 that featured an eagle on the par-five sixth, nine birdies and one bogey.
Two-time winner Malik made 10 birdies against one dropped shot in his 61 while Japan’s Koichiro Ishika, in his maiden season on the tour, produced a bogey-free 7 under 63 for fourth place.
Sheoran’s round began in unlikely fashion when he pulled his opening drive into a bunker on an adjoining fairway.
\With trees blocking his route to the green, he shaped a cut from about 260 yards, found the putting surface and nearly holed his eagle putt from 50 feet before tapping in for birdie.
“I got off to a hot start, although the opening tee shot went left and left me out of position,” said Sheoran later.
“I made good contact with the recovery, found the green and nearly holed the long putt. That gave me a lot of momentum.”
Dhruv Sheoran matched the HGA course record set by Manu Gandas in 2022 on his way into a share of the day one lead in Hyderabad. Image courtesy DP World PGTI.
Hot streak
He followed with a 20-foot birdie conversion on hole 11, a 10-footer on 12 and an eight-footer on 13. Sheoran then drove the green on 14 and two-putted for five birdies on the trot.
His only setback came on 15, where he pushed a pitching wedge into the trees and needed to take a penalty drop.
“The birdies had given me a cushion, and I knew the momentum was still on my side, so the mistake did not unsettle me,” he said.
Finding the fairway on the first, a tee shot Sheoran considers particularly challenging, restored his rhythm for the closing stretch.
“Once I hit that tee shot the way I wanted, I felt I could express my game,” he said.
“From there, I played with controlled aggression and continued executing my tee shots and approaches.”
Sheoran moved to Japan in mid-June and the relocation disrupted his routine.
“I was quite rusty when I came back and couldn’t move the ball the way I wanted,” Sheoran said.
Key inputs
“I worked with my coach before last week’s Telangana Open and started seeing my preferred ball flight again.
“The top-10 finish there gave me the confidence I needed, and that progress showed today.”
Sheoran was unaware that he had matched the course record until completing his round. Standing over a 20-foot birdie putt on the last, he mistakenly believed he was nine-under and needed to hole it to equal the mark.
“I later realised I was already 10-under,” he said. “It would have been nice to make that putt and establish a new course record.”
Vishesh also learned only after completing his round that he had matched Manu Gandas’ course record from 2022 at his home venue.
“Today’s round was very special, particularly because it came at my home course,” he said.
“Everything seemed to go my way. I putted well, struck some good shots and, despite a slow start, stayed patient and kept returning my focus to the present.”
Vishesh converted a 15-foot eagle putt on the sixth, while another highlight arrived on the par-three 16th, where he struck his tee shot to about three feet and made birdie.
Equal value
However, the teenager felt his par saves were just as valuable as the eagle and birdies.
“The rough around the greens is quite thick, and the ball tends to sit down,” Vishesh said.
“Even if you miss a green by only a foot, the recovery can be difficult. Saving par from those positions makes a significant difference by the end of the round.”
Matching the course record carried added significance for Vishesh because it came on familiar ground.
“It is a special achievement, especially because it happened at my home course,” he said.
“Playing here certainly helps. I get to sleep in my own bed, eat home-cooked food prepared by my mother and compete on a course I know extremely well.”
Sri Lanka’s N. Thangaraja and Honey Baisoya of Delhi shared fifth place on 6 under 64.
Defending champion Jamal Hossain of Bangladesh opened with a two-over 72 and was tied 72nd, while current rankings leader Saptak Talwar returned an even-par 70 to share 50th place.
Also read: Rashid wins Telangana Open to end seven-year title drought
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