Vikarabad, Aug 28 (IANS) Rashid Khan ended a seven-year wait for victory with a closing five-under 67, winning the Rs 1 crore Telangana Open 2026 by three strokes at Vooty Golf County in Vikarabad.
The 35-year-old Delhi golfer (66-67-65-67) finished at 23-under 265 to secure his 15th professional title and 11th victory on the DP World PGTI.
He collected Rs 15 lakh and moved up to sixth on the 2026 DP World PGTI Order of Merit, taking his season earnings to Rs 44,95,509.
Delhi’s Honey Baisoya (72-65-66-65) produced the best final-round score among the leading contenders, making nine birdies and two bogeys in a seven-under 65. He finished runner-up at 20-under 268.
Baisoya, winner of the DP World Players Championship at Qutab Golf Course in February, earned Rs 10 lakh for his runner-up finish. He now occupies third place in the season rankings with total earnings of Rs 51,72,092.
Gurugram’s Veer Ahlawat (68-68-68-65), the 2024 DP World PGTI Rankings champion, also closed with a 65 to share third place at 19-under 269 with overnight leader Angad Cheema (70-61-65-73).
Rashid’s previous DP World PGTI victory came at the PGTI Players Championship presented by Chandigarh Golf Club in May 2019. After enduring a difficult seven-year spell, the two-time Asian Tour winner and three-time PGTI Order of Merit champion described his return to the winner’s circle as an emotional moment.
“I can’t describe how I’m feeling right now,” said Rashid. “It has been seven years since my last win, and I struggled a lot with my game during that period. I went through many ups and downs, but I also learned a great deal. Once you come through a phase like that, you understand what you need to do.”
Rashid began the final round two shots behind Cheema and endured an inauspicious start with bogeys on the opening two holes. He responded emphatically, making three consecutive birdies from the third through the fifth before another birdie on the eighth put him in control.
“I got off to a really poor start,” Rashid said. “I made bogey on the opening par five, and the second was playing extremely tough—about 240 yards with a left-to-right wind.
“Even after starting bogey-bogey, I knew that if I stuck to my game plan and continued giving myself birdie opportunities, I could recover. The birdies on the third, fourth and fifth were important turning points.”
Cheema, meanwhile, made three bogeys on the front nine. The momentum shift allowed Rashid to take a three-shot advantage into the turn.
“The birdie on the eighth gave me a lead of two or three shots,” he said. “From there, my focus was simply to keep creating birdie chances. There were scoring opportunities on the back nine, and I started that stretch very well.”
Rashid tightened his grip on the tournament with three consecutive birdies from the 10th through the 12th. After making pars on the next two holes, he produced what he considered the decisive moment on the 15th.
“I had a 12- or 13-foot putt for par, while Angad was inside 10 feet for birdie,” Rashid said. “That proved to be the turning point.”
Cheema managed two birdies after the turn, but his one-over 73 dropped him into a share of third place, four strokes behind Rashid.
Windy conditions added to the challenge during the closing stretch, but Rashid remained composed. Despite the intensity of the title battle, he enjoyed sharing the final group with Cheema and Jairaj Singh Sandhu.
“I’ve known Angad and Jairaj for a long time, and we had a lot of fun out there,” he said.
Rashid also praised the condition of the course, calling the final tee shot a particularly stern test.
“The 17th was manageable, but the tee shot on the 18th was one of the toughest I have ever faced,” he said.
Current DP World PGTI Rankings leader Saptak Talwar (72-68-71-70), who spent the summer competing on the HotelPlanner Tour, finished tied 24th at seven-under 281.
Talwar earned Rs 1,14,450 to extend his advantage at the top of the rankings, taking his season earnings to Rs 87,47,684.
–IANS
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