Kartik Sharma finishes Tied-21 at APAC
18-year-old Gurugram lad Kartik Sharma, who trains at DLF Golf Academy, shot a total score of level-par 288 to finish Tied-21st at the 11th edition of Asia Pacific Amateur Championship held at Sheshan International Golf Club Shanghai, China from September 26-29.
Five Indians entered the tournament — Kartik Sharma, Rayhan Thomas, Harshjeet Sethi, Girraj Singh Khaka, and Basavaraju GN. Of the lot, only Basavaraju was unable to make the halfway mark. Harshjeet Sethi finished T-60 with his score of 19-over 307, 2018 runner-up Rayhan Thomas shot 20-over 308 to finish Tied-62, and Girraj Singh Khadka finished T-64 with his total score of 23-over 311.
Kartik Sharma finished T-13 in 2018. This time round, he showed balanced form and shot rounds of 77, 68, 67, and 76 to finish as the top Indian. “I hit a lot of fairways. The only two I missed I still managed to birdie them. I found every green and putted well, though I feel I left a shot or two out there,” he said.
The defending champion, 21-year-old Japanese Takumi Kanaya finished runner-up at 10-under 278 after a play-off loss against local hope Yuxin Lin. Lin birdied the par-5 18th twice in a playoff to beat defending champion and world no. 1 Takumi Kanaya and become the second two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC), after winning it in 2017. The winner receives an invitation to the prestigious Masters and The Open Championship (beginning in 2018). Sharma was recently named to the International Team of the Junior Presidents Cup to be held in Melbourne this December.
Arnold Palmer to feature on a postage stamp in 2020
On October 22, United States Postal Services announced that it will honour Palmer with a commemorative stamp in 2020.
The Forever stamp will feature James Drake’s action photo of Palmer from the 1964 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club.
The USPS said it is honouring Palmer for “his positive impact and compelling story, rising from humble beginnings to become a globally revered champion,” and because “With drive and charisma, he helped transform a game once seen as a pastime for the elite into a sport enjoyed by the masses.”
Palmer will be the fourth golfer after Bobby Jones(1981), Babe Zaharias (1981) honoured and Francis Ouimet (1987) with a stamp. AP with his impressive physique, charisma and style was responsible for attracting crowds to golf tournaments and making golf popular on TV with his huge fan following across the USA and the world in the 1950s & 60s.
Woods To Write His Memoir Sharing ‘Definitive Truth’
2019 has seen a major comeback from the current Masters champion. 15-time major winner Tiger Woods announced its partnership with Harper Collins to write a memoir sharing his ‘definitive truth’. The book, to be published by HarperCollins has no confirmed release date yet, but will start with Woods’ childhood as a golfing prodigy and span his 81 PGA Tour event wins.
HarperCollins said the memoir was “the first and only account directly from Woods, with the full cooperation of his friends, family and inner circle.”
Though Woods has put his name to a memoir before, he has never written the books himself, with his 2017 book ‘Unprecedented: The Masters and Me’ written with the journalist Lorne Rubenstein.
Woods said: “I’ve been in the spotlight for a long time and because of that, there have been books and articles and TV shows about me, most filled with errors, speculative and wrong.”
“This book is my definitive story. It’s in my words and expresses my thoughts. It describes how I feel and what’s happened in my life. I’ve been working at it steadily, and I’m looking forward to continuing the process and creating a book that people will want to read.”
Shubhankar Sharma’s best comes in Italy
23-year-old Shubhankar Sharma rounded off his week with a three-under 68 for a total of nine-under 275 to finish tied seventh at the Italian Open in Rome on October 13.
The result lifted Shubhankar 70 places in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) from 336 to 266, thus making him the highest-ranked Indian in the world for a while.
Sharma would be happy with the final standing as it was his first top-10 finish outside India since a tied sixth finish at the Hong Kong Open more than 11 months ago.
Shubhankar also gained 33 spots in the European Tour Race to Dubai Rankings as he moved up to 80. He now needs a final push to get into top-50 for a start in the DP World Tour Championships next month.
Previously, Shubhankar Sharma was handed over his ‘Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year’ award for his stellar 2018 season, during the BMW PGA Championship (September 19-22), where he finished tied-17th.