Shubhankar Sharma
India’s star performer on the European Tour, Shubhankar Sharma, started his year with a bang, finishing tied second on Sunday at the US$8 million Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, just one shot behind the winner Thomas Pieters of Belgium.
But for a bogey on the 17th, he could have forced a playoff and had Indian fans at the edge of their seats with an incredible display of skill and poise.
With this finish, Sharma picked up a whopping cheque US$ 693,000 (₹5.1 crores), which exceeds the prize money he won all year in 2020 and 2021 combined and already guarantees his playing rights in Europe for 2023 and a spot in the season ending DP World Championship, reserved for the top 60 ranked players of the entire year. Shubhankar will now enjoy the luxury of setting the schedule of his choice for the rest of the year and will not have any pressure of hitting any prize money milestones. Sharma will tee it up next in the US$ 8mn Dubai Desert Classic this week.
The 25-year-old Sharma who had finished the second half of 2021 on a very positive note was the best putter of the tournament and posted rounds of 70-71-67-71 for a total of 9-under par, 279. This is his best finish on the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour) since he won the Maybank Championship in Malaysia in early 2018.
Sharma started the final round at -8, three strokes behind the overnight leader, and faltered with a double-bogey on the third. He bounced back immediately with a birdie on the fifth and again on the 10th and 14th holesto be only one back. On the 17th, Sharma missed a short par putt after an excellent bunker shot, giving the leader Thomas Pieters a two-shot cushion. A closing birdie on the 18th, secured his 2nd place alongside Spaniar Rafa Cabrera Bello. Pieters, playing in the group behind Sharma, made par to secure his victory.
Credits:-
Photo – DP World Tour