Course record done, Sharma knows a thing or two about closing out
If it was Emiliano Grillo who sizzled on the first day, it was the in-form Shubhankar Sharma’s turn on Friday at the Hero Indian Open. Grillo equalled the course record on Thursday and Shubhankar bettered it a day later. And we all thought 64 and 65 were next to impossible on this track.
These two guys have shown that if the conditions are good, there was no wind on the first two days, low scores were possible.
Shubhankar has been awesome over his last 27 holes. He was five-over for his first nine. Over the next 27 holes he has been 12-under. Shubhankar now has a great chance to make the top-50 in the world and with some joint-sanctioned events coming up before the Masters, plus the possibility of the no-cut WGC Matchplay, he can make a big splash.
Grillo has been patient and if Shubhankar can show the patience he did on Friday, the 21-year-old who now knows a thing or two about closing, can get there.
While a lot of focus has been on Shubhankar, I was also very happy to see Khalin Joshi make a good move with a 68 that put him in the top-ten. India’s young guns putting on a decent show included amateur Kshitij Naveed Kaul, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Udayan Mane and teenager Karandeep Kochar as they all made the cut. Anirban Lahiri made the cut comfortably to give himself a chance to strike back.
Amidst the youngsters, there was veteran Jyoti Randhawa, who ensured that the senior generation was still represented.
From an Indian point of view it meant that the local fans will have a lot to look forward to.
Personally, it was a missed cut by one. After the birdie on 18th, which my playing partner called as the ‘best up-and-down’ after being in bunker, I thought I was in. But suddenly there was a birdie elsewhere from someone else and I was again out.
I can keep thinking of the 2-footer I missed on fourth, or the six-footer on seventh or double on 13 and bogey on 14. Any one of them one shot better could have turned the things for me. But it was not to be.