Shubham Jaglan surges to Q-School lead in bid for 2026 Asian Tour card

India’s Shubham Jaglan, who turned professional barely six months ago, moved into pole position to earn full Asian Tour playing rights for 2026 after taking the second-round lead at Final Qualifying School in Thailand. The 21-year-old New Delhi golfer added a five-under 66 on the C&D nines at Lake View Resort & Golf Club to his opening 67 to reach nine-under and top the leaderboard at halfway.

Chinese Taipei’s Liu Yung-hua and Canadian Henry Hyoun Ho Lee sit one shot back in joint second, Liu carding a 69 on the same layout as Jaglan and Lee returning a 65 on the A&B course. A large group at seven-under includes joint first-round leader Will Florimo, who slipped back with a 71 after a late bogey–double finish, along with Thailand’s Itthipat Buranatanyarat, Koreans Minchan Kim (amateur) and Inhoi Hur, China’s Lin Yuxin and Mexico’s Roberto Lebrija.

Jaglan, the top Indian on the board, has handled the pressure of Q-School with mature control on the greens. “I played awesome,” he said. “I’ve been putting really well. If I count the feet of putts I made – I think tour average is like 70–80 – and I’ve had over 100 feet of putts both days. I did a much better job of not getting angry and just staying present, one shot at a time.”

His card on day two included birdies on three, seven and eight, another on 12, a lone bogey on 14, then closing birdies on 15 and 17 to edge clear late. It caps a strong first year in the paid ranks: since turning pro in July after graduating from the University of South Florida, Jaglan has made the cut on PGA Tour Americas at the Bromont Open and finished runner-up in a playoff at last month’s Trident Open on the PGTI.

Among the other Indians, Shaurya Bhattacharya (70-67) sits tied 15th, while Rashid Khan (70-69) is tied 33rd. Teenager Kartik Singh (67-73) is tied 44th alongside Sachin and Honey Baisoya, with Ajeetesh Sandhu and Khalin Joshi (both 72-70) at tied 71st. Yuvraj Singh (68-76), S Chikkarangappa, Viraj Madappa and Pukhraj Singh Gill are at two-over and tied 109th, while Varun Parikh, Arjun Prasad and Aman Raj missed the first cut.

The field was trimmed to the top 140 and ties after round two, with 144 players advancing when the cut fell at three-over. After 72 holes, the leading 70 and ties will progress to Sunday’s final round, where only the top 35 and ties will secure coveted Asian Tour cards for next season.