Leader by two, Cheema hopes to end title drought
NOIDA:In Nothing spectacular but I’ve kept myself out of trouble...In my head, I was playing well.
ANGAD CHEEMA, Rd III Leader
with a chance to break a five-year title drought on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), Angad Cheema, leader by two shots after the penultimate round of the QA InfoTech Open at the Noida Golf Course, is grateful to be pursuing a passion.
“But for the playing opportunities (golf courses) an army life brings, it would have been tough. The only golfers emerging from the middle class have an Army connection,” said the 28-year-old after Thursday’s round of threeunder 69 that had five birdies and two bogeys.
Like overnight leader Arjun Prasad, who slipped two spots, Angad too hails from an army background, but unlike the 19-year-old, Angad admits discipline did little to help him focus better on the golf course.
What he is thankful of is the opportunities he got across cantonments.
The impetus did work, placing him among the country’s top amateurs, and then the dream rookie season in 2013 that saw him win in Sri Lanka and pick up six other top-10s on the PGTI.
But as it often happens, expectations from self and those close caught up. Pressure started to show from next season as results dipped.
An injury to the left ankle in 2015 made it worse as he sat out for almost two months, losing time in his first season on the Asian Tour, and of course at home.
Working hard, Angad thought change was in the offing at the start of the season. The comfortable four-shot cushion after the second round at the Golconda Masters in Hyderabad should have helped him to a strong finish, instead bereavement in the family pulled him down in the final two rounds. “In my head, I was playing well.”
This week too, the feeling is good and to further his chances Angad has kept it simple on a golf course that is a test of skill. “Nothing spectacular but I’ve kept myself out of trouble,” he said. In the hope that luck will change, Angad has roped in Gurbaaz Maan, club fitter to Shubhankar Sharma.
The new shaft for the driver has improved Angad’s ball striking and renewed hope of a break from the past.
Leaderboard :210: Angad Cheema (71, 70, 69) ;212: Akshay Sharma (73, 70, 69) 213: Gaurav Pratap Singh (71, 71, 71); Mithun Perera (69, 71, 73); Arjun Prasad (69, 71, 73); 214: Divyanshu Bajaj (72, 73, 69); Sachin Baisoya (70, 75, 69); Mukesh Kumar (72, 72, 70); Anura Rohana (70, 71, 73)