Shubhankar battles as top golfers struggle
SOUTHAMPTON (US): Facing demanding and gusty conditions, Shubhankar Sharma carded a gritty four-over 74 in the opening round of the US Open at Shinnecock Hills to lie tied 37th here.The 21-year-old Sharma, who came through the qualifiers in Columbus, had two birdies against six bogeys -- three of them on back nine between the 11th and 17th.
“It was pretty tough out there, with some very high scores. I have been here since Friday and played the course a few times, but it was totally different from what it was on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday,” said Sharma.
Meanwhile, World No. 1 Dustin Johnson shot one-under 69 to be among the four joint leaders. Only four players were under par for the first day and only Jason Dufner (70) shot even par to be T-5th. Many of the big names had a nightmarish day and that included Tiger Woods (78), but Rory McIlroy (80) was the worst among former champions.
Jason Day (79), Jordan Spieth (78), Jon Rahm (78), Phil Mickelson (77) and Bubba Watson (77) were among the stars to suffer on the brutal Shinnecock Hills.
Sharma, who dropped bogeys at the second, fourth, sixth, 11th, 14th and 17th holes, said, “The club selection on lot of the holes was very, very different from what we had planned. We had to adapt to the conditions.
“It was tough, windy and I remember from the time I was at the range at 7.30 am it started and it became gusty and it stayed like that tough till 4-5 pm. I was happy with the way I played front nine, when I was one-over.
“The back nine was very tough. Personally I hit a few good shots, but they ended in bad places. Like on 17, the wind stopped suddenly and I ended going over and it was a tough up and down (and it was a bogey).”