Shubhankar, Ajeetesh look to continue hot streak

Kolkata, December 20: The Indian challenge at the Rs. 1.5 crore McLeod Russel Tour Championship 2017 will be led by the trio of Shubhankar Sharma, Ajeetesh Sandhu and SSP Chawrasia, all international winners in 2017.

While reigning Indian Open champion Chawrasia will yet again be one of the firm favourites at his home course, Shubhankar Sharma and Ajeetesh Sandhu will also take centre-stage having posted their maiden victories on the global stage only recently.

Twenty-one-year-old Shubhankar Sharma took the golfing world by storm last week when he became the youngest Indian to win on the European Tour after a career-defining three-shot triumph at the Joburg Open in South Africa.

Winning the event, tri-sanctioned by the European Tour, Asian Tour and Sunshine Tour, also earned Sharma a berth at his first Major, next year’s British Open, which would be played at Carnoustie.
Shubhankar reflected on his fairytale week, saying, “What made the victory even sweeter was the fact that the conditions were really tough as it had rained all week. It was also highly satisfying for me to win an event with a field of 240. I’m now really excited about playing my first Major next year.”

Sharma, also a winner on the PGTI this year, is now returning to one of his favourite venues where he tasted success at a PGTI event in March 2016. Shubhankar, who claimed tied 11th at the Asian Tour event in Indonesia last week, said, “I’m playing well and feeling fit. A full day’s rest on Tuesday did me a world of good. I’ll now look to carry the momentum from the last two weeks. I’ve won at the RCGC in the past and that adds to the confidence. It’s about putting four good rounds together. If I play my best, it should be good enough to win here.

“It’s not an easy course. One has to be accurate off the tee and hit fairways as the rough is up. If you drive it well there are low scores out there.”

Ajeetesh Sandhu has also enjoyed a golden run this year, first winning on the PGTI in the first half of the season and then following it up with his breakthrough win on the Asian Tour at the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship in Taipei. He also went on to win a Japanese Challenge Tour event thereafter.

Ajeetesh, who sounded a warning to all his rivals by finishing runner-up at the Pro-Am event on Wednesday, said, “The last couple of months have been exceptional. It’s been one of my most consistent seasons having achieved success in India and abroad. I’ve also been in contention on several occasions.

“The RCGC is a challenging course. It tests you in all aspects of the game. It’s also a very fair course where good shots create birdie opportunities. But in order to do well here, you have to be on top of your game from the very first shot.”

Besides Shubhankar, Ajeetesh and SSP, the other leading Indian names in the field consist of international winners Jyoti Randhawa, Rashid Khan, Chiragh Kumar, Rahil Gangjee and Chikkarangappa.

Interestingly, Rashid Khan and PGTI Order of Merit leader Shamim Khan are joint holders of the course record of nine-under-63. Both achieved the feat in previous editions of the McLeod Russel Tour Championship.

The event will decide the PGTI Order of Merit champion and vying for top honours will be money list leaders Shamim Khan (Rs. 46,27,983), Udayan Mane (Rs. 41,26,751) and Anura Rohana (Rs. 32,68,836), placed first, second and third respectively.