Angad Cheema carded a career-best, bogey-free 11-under 61 on 26 August 2026 to surge to a two-shot lead at 13-under 131 after the second round of the ₹1 crore Telangana Open 2026 at Vooty Golf County, Vikarabad. The Chandigarh-based golfer's stunning round — played with preferred lies in effect following rain — is the lowest score of his professional career.

How Cheema's Round Unfolded

Cheema opened his card with a birdie on the first hole and then strung together five consecutive birdies from the third through the seventh, reaching six-under through seven holes. A run of four straight pars briefly checked his momentum, but a chip-in eagle on the par-five 12th reignited his charge. He added three more birdies on the back nine to finish at 11-under for the day.

'An 11-under round is definitely the lowest score I have ever shot,' Cheema said. '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.'

He credited his accuracy off the tee as the foundation of the round. 'I struck the ball extremely well, holed a lot of putts and missed only one fairway all day,' he said. 'The chip-in gave the round fresh momentum and got me going again on the back nine.'

Rashid Khan Moves Into Second

Delhi's Rashid Khan returned a five-under 67 to climb into second place at 11-under 133, two shots adrift of Cheema. Khan's round was headlined by eagles on the par-four third and the par-five fifth — converting from roughly 20 feet on the third and holing out from around eight feet after a three-wood approach on the fifth.

Despite the two eagles, Khan felt his scorecard could have read better. He three-putted the sixth and ninth and missed several makeable chances before birdying the 12th, 15th and 16th. A dropped shot on the 17th capped an otherwise productive day. 'I missed quite a few putts, so the score could have been even better,' he said. 'But my game is improving with each round.'

Leaderboard at a Glance

Hyderabad's 19-year-old Vishesh Sharma, who returned to competition after a two-week illness, occupied third place at 10-under 134 following a four-under 68 that featured an eagle on the par-five third, four birdies and two bogeys.

Overnight co-leader Akshay Sharma of Chandigarh slipped to a share of fourth at nine-under 135, alongside Gurugram's Dhruv Sheoran (68-67) and Sri Lanka's Mithun Perera (70-65). Perera, who returned from retirement this season, produced a bogey-free 65 with seven birdies. The other first-round co-leader, Manu Gandas (65-71), fell into a five-way tie for seventh at eight-under 136.

Current PGTI Rankings leader Saptak Talwar (72-68) sits tied 23rd at four-under 140. The cut fell at one-under 143, with 50 players from the field of 131 advancing to the final two rounds.

What to Watch This Weekend

Cheema — a four-time winner on the DP World PGTI and runner-up at last week's Kolar Open — enters the weekend in commanding form but has flagged the course's thick rough and wind as the chief tests ahead. 'The rough is very punishing, but the greens are receptive,' he said. 'If you find the fairway, you have a good chance to attack the pins.' With Rashid Khan and a resurgent Vishesh Sharma in close pursuit, the final two rounds at Vooty promise a tightly contested finish.