Shubhankar tied-19th in Mexico after Round 1
MEXICO CITY: India’s Shubhankar Sharma made two nice birdies over the last four holes to ensure a solid start with a score of oneunder 70 to be placed tied 19th after the first round of the Wgcmexico Championship here.
Shubhankar, 22, who catapulted into global fame by leading after 54 holes on his PGA Tour debut in 2018, is now tied 19th on a day when Rory Mcilroy (63) and Dustin Johnson (64) pulled themselves well clear of the field at the Par-71 Chapultepec Golf Club.
Last year Shubhankar finished tied ninth at the $10.25 million tournament here.
Thai star Kiradech Aphibarnrat produced his best opening round of the year on the PGA Tour, carding a three-under 68 for a share of the seventh spot.
Kiradech traded five birdies against two bogeys to trail first round leader Mcilroy, who enjoyed a blistering 63, featuring an eagle, seven birdies and a bogey.
China’s Haotong Li dropped two late bogeys to settle for 69, leaving him tied 11th while Shubhankar had a roller-coaster day with four birdies against three bogeys. He bombed some big drives around 350 yards and over and hit 13 of the 18 greens in regulation.
He had a nice start on the 387yard par-4 second, where he drove 349 yards and chipped his second shot to two feet for a oneputt birdie.
ATWAL TIED 58TH
RIO GRANDE (PUERTO RICO): Indian golfer Arjun Atwal, playing his first PGA Tour event this season, shot even par 72 to be placed tied 58th at the end of the first round of the Puerto Rico Open here. Atwal, the only Indian to have won a PGA Tour title, back in 2010, had three birdies and three bogeys on Thursday.
Also playing in the field is Swede Daniel Chopra, who shot 75 and is tied 103rd. On a day which had unpredictable, swirling winds, Argentina’s Andres Romero played steady to fire sixunder-par 66 at the Coco Beach Golf Club.
The Puerto Rico Open is Romero’s third PGA Tour start of the 2018-19 season. He finished tied 26th at the Sanderson Farms Championship and missed the cut at The RSM Classic. Romero leads by one shot over Austrian Sepp Straka.
WOODS NOT TO PLAY
MEXICO CITY: Tiger Woods is skipping the Honda Classic next week as he tries to figure out a busy Florida schedule leading to the Masters.
Woods has played the Honda Classic at PGA National the last four times he has been healthy, dating to 2012. He finished 12th a year ago but that was when it followed the West Coast swing and Woods was not eligible for the Mexico Championship.
GARCHA POLO IN FINAL
NEWDELHI:GARCHA Group-aravali Polo beat Jindal Panther 12 goals to nine in the last league match of the LA Pegasus Polo Northern India Open Polo Championship (16 Goal) at the Jaipur Polo Ground here on Friday. Manuel Llorente scored six goals while Ravi Rathore struck four and Angad Kalaan two for Garcha. The Garcha Group-aravali Polo will meet Sahara Warriors in the final on Sunday.
PUNJAB IN QUARTERS
AURANGABAD: Hockey Punjab, Hockey Chandigarh, Hockey Haryana, Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy, Hockey Gangpur-odisha, Uttar Pradesh Hockey and Hockey Bihar register victories in their respective pool matches of the ninth Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2019 (A Division) here on Friday. In Pool A, Punjab defeated Hockey Himachal 6-0 to secure their place in quarter-finals as the second placed team with a tally of seven points from four matches. Later, Chandigarh beat Tamil Nadu 4-1 to advance as pool toppers with 10 points.
AHMAD ELECTED TO AHF
NEWDELHI:HOCKEY India president Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad and vice-president Asima Ali were on Friday elected as the vice-president and Executive Committee member of the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) for a four-year term in Gifu, Japan. Besides Ali, Mushtaque Ahmad too has now become a member of the AHF Executive Board.
NO ROMA LINK: SARRI
LONDON: Chelsea’s under-fire manager Maurizio Sarri has dismissed reports he is in talks to replace Eusebio Di Francesco at AS Roma.“i have a contract with Chelsea for the next two seasons so it is impossible to have another contract. I read in an Italian newspaper about a meeting with (Roma advisor) Franco Baldini but I think Franco is in South Africa,” he told BT Sport.
RELIEF FOR AJAX
AMSTERDAM: Ajax Amsterdam will have almost a week free to prepare for their Champions League last 16 second leg clash at Real Madrid after the Dutch federation on Thursday allowed the club to move their Eredivisie game against PEC Zwolle. Ajax lost the first leg 2-1 at home last week.
RENNES THROUGH
French side Rennes are into the last 16 of a major European tournament for the first time after winning possibly the most entertaining tie of the round 6-4 on aggregate following a barnstorming 3-1 win at Real Betis.
RB Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb and Zenit Saint Petersburg all overturned first-leg deficits, with Austrians Salzburg hammering Club Brugge 4-0 to go through 5-2 and Croatian champions Dinamo 4-2 winners on aggregate after a storming 3-0 victory over Viktoria Plzen.