Sharma wins South African event he nearly missed
JOHANNESBURG: Indian Shubhankar Sharma completed his maiden European Tour triumph Monday in Johannesburg by winning the Joburg Open tournament he almost did not compete in.
He carded a three- under- par last- round 69 to finish three strokes clear of South African bad weather.
Sunday due to torrential rain, lightning and hail and resumed Monday
Sharma birdied three holes on the outward trek, then parred all the inward-nine holes with immaculate approach shots and putting highlights of his game.
After three bogeys during his opening-round 69 last Thursday, dropping a shot and his secondround 61 was the lowest score of the tournament.
Visa delays and tiredness after a long Asian Tour campaign left the 21-year-old Indian contemplating - pean Tour, Asian Tour and South African Sunshine Tour event.
His late decision to visit South dividends as he pocketed a 2.6 million rand ($190,000/160,000
Victory also guaranteed Sharma, along with Van Rooyen and joint third Shaun Norris of South Africa,
“I am thrilled that I came to the adding to five victories on the Indian circuit.
“It has been a very long Asian Tour season for me so I was considering whether I wanted to visit South Africa. I am really happy that I did.”
462 in the world was sharing ninth place at the Maybank Cham February.
wonderful feeling,” Sharma said after receiving the trophy from Johannesburg mayor and golfer Herman Mashaba.
time last Monday and we worked so well together. Heeding his advice was a key factor in my success.
“Saving par on a number of holes thanks to up and downs me at the top of the leaderboard.
“It has been absolutely fantastic and the people were very welcoming. I do not think I will ever forget this week.
“This is my first win on the Tour so it means a lot to me,” said Sharma.
players. I was just trying to play two good rounds to make the cut, which was really low.
“I was playing well and had a great start on the second day which got things going for me. As soon as I reached 13 under after two days, I thought I had a chance to win.
“The only thing I was telling myself was to stay aggressive. I never wanted to be defensive.
never thought of defending my under.”
and five outward- nine birdies narrowed the gap to four shots by the turn.
But he could add only one further birdie, leaving steady Sharma to succeed one week after compa