SHUBHANKAR’S SENSATIONAL RUN CONTINUES
21YROLD SETS COURSE RECORD WITH 8UNDER 64 AT INDIAN OPEN
GURGAON: Glad tidings continues to pour in for Shubhankar Sharma. In a sign of what could lie ahead, Shubhankar broke the course record in a late charge with an eight-under 64 to lie sole second at the halfway mark in the Hero Indian Open on Friday.
After the news of him getting another invite, this time to the PGA Tour’s Valero Texas Open in April following the Augusta Masters call, Friday ended in a way that would be remembered by the 21-year-old.
Five-over after nine holes at the start on Thursday to be where he is, a climb of 53 spots, it wasn’t moving up the leaderboard that spurred him on.
“I don’t look at it as it often doesn’t give the correct picture,” he said, but pointed to the record score on a course where he’s played a lot of his recent golf. Especially after Pablo Larrazabal
equalled the seven-under 65 on Thursday.
As SSP Chawrasia’s two-year reign came to an end, a piece of statistic followed the probable successor, Emiliano Grillo, around the DLF Golf and Country Club. Grillo shot a four-under 68 to extend his clubhouse lead by four shots, but no leader early on has won this season on the European Tour.
Perhaps oblivious to that piece of nugget as PGA Tour winner Grillo is here on a sponsor’s invite, the amiable Argentine breezed through Day Two, happy to pull off what he’d promised himself at the start of the week.
“When I practised on Tuesday and Wednesday, I told myself I’ll be in a good position if I can shoot under-par every day.”
With reputations taking a knock all around him -- Chawrasia missing cut only one of the stories of the day, Grillo could afford to come away smiling despite finishing with a bogey on the 9th, his lone blemish of the round.
Eager to get out of the monotony of playing on golf courses in the US almost similar in nature, and crisscrossing states in the name of travel,
Grillo grabbed the opportunity to take the long flight to India for the second time after 2013 (for the Avantha Masters). As soon as the invite came, he checked if friend Anirban Lahiri was making the trip as well, and the nod helped.