MEXICO CITY: The kid’s got game! Young Indian talent Shubhankar Sharma earned plaudits for his battling display at the $10 million World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship which was won by American Phil Mickelson on Sunday.
Sharma, the youngest player in the elite field, earned a new legion of fans after holding the second and third round lead. Following a dream run through the first three rounds of 65-66-69, Sharma fell with a stuttering 74 on a final day when the Golfing Gods just did not look his way.
After being 14-under at one stage on the third day, he finished on 274 with a total of 10-under and in Tied-9th place.
Disappointing it may seem, but it was India’s second best ever, next only to the seasoned Jeev Milkha Singh’s T-4 back in 2009. It was the same event but then it had a different sponsor and was on a different golf course, Doral.
The 21-year-old Sharma, who leads the Asian Tour’s Habitat for Humanity Standings and has won twice on the Asian Tour and the European Tour since last December, stood tall after capping a memorable WGC-debut, where he had led the star-studded field by two shots after day two and three.
“A little bit disappointed, I was leading and I think I couldn’t finish it off. But that’s what the game is about. And what I learned, especially playing with Phil, I’ll cherish it forever,” said Sharma, whose solid showing in Mexico pushed him from 75th to 66th position on the OWGR.
Sharma believes he will learn greatly from the experience of playing alongside Mickelson. “If you would have asked me four months ago that I would be playing with Phil at a WGC event on the last day, I would have just laughed,” said Sharma, who also leads the Asian Tour’s Habitat for Humanity Standings.
“Just playing with him has been fantastic. He’s obviously a great man, showed me a few great shots. He’s not afraid to go out there and get it out there and hit it at the pin, and he took some crazy clubs off the tee but that’s what Phil is all about. I’ll never forget it. Especially on 16 where he made birdie, it was the loudest roar I ever heard in my life. It was fantastic,” Sharma added.
The Asian Tour next travels to the $1.75 million Hero Indian Open this week. The prestigious event will be sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour and will be played at the DLF Golf and Country Club.
Habitat for Humanity Standings – Top-20
Pos Player Order of Merit
1. Shubhankar SHARMA (IND) $500,000
2. Kiradech APHIBARNRAT (THA) $251,173
3. Paul PETERSON (USA) $196,771
4. Berry HENSON (USA) $131,983
5. Shaun NORRIS (RSA) $112,200
6. Hideto TANIHARA (JPN) $95,612
7. Terry PILKADARIS (AUS) $93,435
8. Khalin JOSHI (IND) $92,880
9. Prom MEESAWAT (THA) $80,516
10. Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA) $75,359
11. Danthai BOONMA (THA) $67,400
12. Jarin TODD (USA) $66,795
13. Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) $48,391
14. Poom SAKSANSIN (THA) $46,161
15. Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA) $44,818
16. Shiv KAPUR (IND) $44,650
17. Scott VINCENT (ZIM) $42,636
18. Arjun ATWAL (IND) $40,041
19. Daisuke KATAOKA (JPN) $39,596
20. David LIPSKY (USA) $38,857
