When golfing great apologised to P’kula’s Shubhankar
NEW DELHI: On Saturday, India’s latest golfing sensation Shubhankar Sharma spotted hall-of-famer Phil Mickelson at the putting green at the Club de Golf Chapultepec near Mexico City where the World Golf Championship - Mexico is being played. Panchkula’s Shubhankar and his caddie for the week, former Indian pro, Gurbaaz Mann, approached Mickelson to greet him, but the focused Mickelson, not recognising them, just waved them off.
“He thought we were media and he said, ‘Not right now, after the round.’ Then he realised (who I was) and said, ‘So sorry, I thought you were media,’ and he said Hi, I said Hi. Then he made a few putts and he came back to me and said, ‘Have a good day.’ It was nice,” said Sharma.
“It made my day,” he gushed. Mann didn’t miss the opportunity to point out to Sharma just how focused five-time Majors champion Mickelson was.
The two will have a chance to continue their conversation when they walk out together for the final round (it was scheduled just past midnight on Sunday).
Sharma has a two-shot lead; he is 13-under to Mickelson’s 11-under. Shubhankar, 21, was born five years after Mickelson turned pro, has been enjoying himself in the company of super stars. “For me, it’s actually almost like watching TV,” he said.
Mickelson can be excused for not recognising Sharma, who has never played in the US. Sharma may have two European Tour victories already this season, but a win here will reverberate around the golfing world.
Sharma is one great round away from becoming the youngest winner of a World Golf Championships (WGC) event (there are four a year), and only the second after Russel Knox of Scotland (in 2015) to win on a WGC debut.
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