Indian-American Sahith Theegala showed remarkable resilience to survive a disastrous triple bogey and still comfortably make the cut at the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club.
After opening with an impressive 4-under 68 to sit inside the top 10, Theegala slipped to tied-30th following a difficult second-round 73 in testing weather conditions. The 28-year-old ended 36 holes at 1-over-par, still only five shots behind co-leaders Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley, who shared the halfway lead at 4-under 136.
Theegala’s second round featured both brilliance and adversity. He looked in control early, mixing two birdies with a bogey between the sixth and ninth holes before disaster struck at the par-4 10th.
After finding a greenside bunker with his approach, his next shot flew long into thick vegetation behind the green. Despite an extensive search involving officials, volunteers and television crews, the ball could not be found within the allotted three minutes, resulting in a lost-ball penalty and a triple-bogey seven.
The costly mistake threatened to derail his championship, but Theegala responded impressively, regaining composure over the closing stretch to safely secure a weekend berth. His recovery under pressure highlighted the fighting qualities that have made him one of the PGA Tour’s most popular players.
“It was frustrating because I felt like I was playing well,” Theegala said after the round. “But in conditions like this, you just have to stay patient and keep battling. I’m proud that I didn’t let one hole ruin the tournament.”
Theegala, who along with Akshay Bhatia is backed by Hero, now finds himself alongside Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka in a crowded tie for 30th. He also sits just three shots behind World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in a tightly packed leaderboard.
Among the four players of Indian origin in the field, only Theegala and Indo-British golfer Aaron Rai advanced to the weekend.
Rai continued his excellent run of consistency with rounds of 70 and 69 to sit tied-16th at 1-under 139. The 31-year-old relied on his trademark accuracy and disciplined ball-striking to navigate Aronimink’s demanding setup.
Rai recorded nine birdies across the first two rounds, placing him among the tournament leaders in birdies made. “I stayed patient and tried not to force things,” Rai said. “On a course like this, avoiding mistakes is just as important as making birdies.”
In contrast, Akshay Bhatia narrowly missed the cut after a difficult Friday. The 24-year-old struggled off the tee in the windy afternoon conditions and carded a 4-over 74 to finish at 5-over 145, missing the cut by a single shot.
Indo-Canadian rookie Sudarshan Yellamaraju also exited early after rounds of 75 and 75 in his major championship debut.
At the top, surprise co-leaders McNealy and Smalley handled the brutal weather conditions superbly to reach 4-under. Former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama briefly held the clubhouse lead after a brilliant 67, while Scheffler battled back from three early bogeys to remain firmly in contention.
Rory McIlroy produced one of the rounds of the day. After opening with a disappointing 74, the World No. 2 responded with a superb 67 in the tougher afternoon conditions to comfortably make the cut alongside Theegala at 1-over.
The difficult conditions claimed several big names, including Bryson DeChambeau, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Wyndham Clark and Keegan Bradley, all of whom missed the cut.
With the leaderboard tightly packed and conditions expected to remain challenging, both Theegala and Rai will head into the weekend hoping to mount a charge at the Wanamaker Trophy.
