Brilliant Shubhankar clinches maiden European Tour title

Add as a preferred source on Google

Bengaluru, December 11: Come rain, hail or shine there was no stopping Shubhankar Sharma from laying his hands on his maiden European Tour trophy. The final round of the Joburg Open had been halted on Sunday (December 10) due to the threat of lightning. And resuming play on Monday, 21-year-old Shubhankar made no mistake as he clinched the Joburg Open at the Randpark Golf Club.

The youngster etched his name amongst the top golfers of the country as he is only the fifth Indian to win on the European tour. The win opened up the door of opportunity for the Delhi golfer who already has eight top ten finishes on the Asian Tour. Shubhankar notched his maiden European victory, playing in only his tenth event on the Tour.

The 21-year-old, who had headed into the final round with a comfortable five-stroke lead, had 11 more holes to go when play had been stopped on Sunday. But that did not affect his game, as he turned in a flawless card to wrap up his maiden title.

The win will be a big boost to the Indian who earned a place at next year's Open Championship. Shubhankar, who turned in bogey-free cards on three back-to-back days, strolled to a three-shot victory with a total score of 23-under 264, despite a desperate surge from home lad Eric van Rooyen, who carded six-under-66 to finish second.

An elated Shubhankar told the European Tour, "It feels absolutely wonderful to have won this week. I actually wasn't going to come here about a week ago and I decided to come so I'm really happy that I came. This is my first time in South Africa and I don't think I'm ever going forget my first time in South Africa.

"I hit the ball good and I putted really well but the key up-and-downs I made over the first three days, I think I only missed two up-and-downs over the whole week.

"Even today, the up-and-downs I made on the tenth, the 13th and the 15th were very crucial. Once in a while you just have to make a few par saves to get a round going and I did just that the whole week," concluded the Indian pro.

Lying further three-shots behing Shaun Norris and Tapio Pulkkanen secured a third-place finish with a total of 17-under. Both Norris and Van Rooyen also earned places at next year's Open along with Shubhankar.