Sahith Theegala moved into tied-seventh at the halfway stage of the 2026 U.S. Open after a three-under 67 at Shinnecock Hills. He reached one-under-par for the championship, climbing from tied-49th overnight and putting himself six shots behind Wyndham Clark.
Theegala at one-under-par
The second round was the turnaround. Theegala’s 67 left him as the leading Indian-origin golfer in the field and inside the top 10 after 36 holes, a position that gives him a clear weekend target rather than a scramble from the middle of the pack.
His opening 72 had left him tied-49th, so the move was not incremental. It was a jump of 42 places on the leaderboard, built in one round and reflected in the scorecard by the shift from level golf on Thursday to three under on Friday.
Akshay Bhatia and Aaron Rai
Akshay Bhatia and Aaron Rai also stayed in the picture at the halfway mark. Bhatia posted a second successive even-par 70 and sat tied-11th at level-par, while Rai followed an opening 74 with a three-under 67 to reach one-over-par and tied-22nd.
That left three Indian-origin golfers still in contention heading into the weekend. The spread between Theegala at one-under-par, Bhatia at level-par and Rai at one-over-par shows how close the group remained despite playing from different spots on the board.
Shinnecock Hills cut line
Wyndham Clark set the pace with the lowest 36-hole score ever recorded at Shinnecock Hills and a four-shot lead after two rounds. Theegala’s push mattered because it came against that pace, not in a quiet pocket of the leaderboard.
Sudarshan Yellamaraju and Manav Shah did not make it through. Yellamaraju missed the cut after rounds of 73 and 72, while Shah, in his maiden Major, signed for 73 and 74 and became the first player from the Indian Golf Premier League to compete in one of golf’s four biggest championships.
Theegala now heads into the weekend with a place in the top 10 and room to move if he keeps scoring below par. The weekend rounds will decide whether that tied-seventh start turns into a real finish near the front.
