HYDERABAD, September 4: Vishesh Sharma won his maiden professional title on home soil on Friday, closing with a one-under 69 for a 21-under 259 total to take the Telangana Golconda Masters by one stroke at the Hyderabad Golf Association.
The 19-year-old, playing his second season on the DP World PGTI, finished one shot clear of Noida’s Amardeep Malik in the tournament’s 12th edition and collected INR 15 lakh.
Vishesh’s rounds of 60-66-64-69 lifted him from 25th to 14th on the 2026 Order of Merit, took his season earnings to INR 30,93,550, and secured him a place in the DP World India Championship.
Malik closes the gap
Malik (61-65-68-66) mounted a strong challenge with a closing four-under 66 to finish runner-up at 20-under 260. His round included an eagle on the par-five sixth, six birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey.
The 41-year-old earned INR 10 lakh and moved from 22nd to 19th on the Order of Merit, taking his season earnings to INR 27,75,748.
Course record matched
Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma (69-69-63-60) matched the course record with the day’s lowest round, a 10-under 60. He made an eagle and 10 birdies against two bogeys, including four birdies in a row from the third to the sixth. The round lifted him into a share of third at 19-under 261.
Delhi’s Honey Baisoya (64-64-68-65) joined him in third after a 65 built on seven birdies and two bogeys. Baisoya earned INR 5,49,800 and strengthened his hold on third place in the season rankings, with total earnings of INR 57,21,892.
Double bogey and recovery
Vishesh began the final round with a four-shot lead, but the route to victory was not straightforward. His 69 contained seven birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey as Malik cut the gap to one.
The double bogey came on the par-four 13th. Vishesh answered with consecutive birdies on the 14th and 15th to hold his lead, before a long lag putt on the 18th sealed the win.
“I’m over the moon. It still hasn’t completely sunk in,” Vishesh said. “To claim my first professional title at 19, and to do it at my home course, makes this victory incredibly special.”
“The double bogey came down to nerves,” he said. “I hit one poor shot and then attempted a recovery that wasn’t really available, so I paid the price. But the two birdies that followed helped me hold the lead.”
He added that the lag putt on the 18th “was particularly important and helped me finish the job.”
A title in the making since 2021
The win came in Vishesh’s 33rd DP World PGTI start since joining the tour last season. His previous best result was sixth place at the Boulders Classic in April.
He thanked his parents, sister and coach Sanjay Singh, along with HGA, Boulder Hills, the DP World PGTI staff, the greenkeeping team, sponsors and event partners, as well as his friends, club members and the home crowd.
The victory completed a journey that began when Vishesh watched a DP World PGTI event at HGA as a junior in 2021. “I remember watching many top players that week,” he said. “To have watched the professionals here as a youngster, then compete on the same course and now win a title is difficult to put into perspective.”
Rest of the leaderboard
Chandigarh’s Angad Cheema (66-67-66-66) finished fifth at 15-under 265, followed by Ajeetesh Sandhu (65-69-67-65) in sixth at 14-under 266. Delhi’s Rashid Khan (68-69-63-67) and Kshitij Naveed Kaul (68-66-65-68) shared seventh at 13-under 267.
Defending champion Jamal Hossain (72-66-72-68) of Bangladesh finished tied 30th at two-under 278. His final round included a hole-in-one on the par-three third, the week’s fourth ace. Abhinav Lohan and Anshul Kabthiyal had both holed the par-three 11th in the second round, while Harman Sachdeva aced the par-three seventh.
Current Order of Merit leader Saptak Talwar (70-67-61-71), who spent the summer on the HotelPlanner Tour, finished alone in 11th at 11-under 269. He earned INR 1,84,700 to extend his lead at the top of the rankings, taking his season earnings to INR 89,32,384.
About the event
The Race to DP World India Championship decides the DP World PGTI’s number one player for the season and sets the top 24 players from the Order of Merit who qualify for the season-ending DP World India Championship.
The INR 1 crore Telangana Golconda Masters was supported by event partners Telangana Tourism, Hyderabad Golf Association, The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace and The Q Golf Studio by Playroot Golf, DP World PGTI’s umbrella partner DP World, and tour partners Axis Bank, Amul, Amrutanjan Enerlyte, Air India Maharaja Club and Kalyani.
