Shubhankar cards 3-under 69 in final round, ends 3rd
NEW DELHI: India’s Shubhankar Sharma ended the frustration of a poor run by finishing an impressive third in the Nedbank Golf Challenge, a European Tour (DP World Tour) event, in Sun City, South Africa on Sunday.
The 26-year-old carded a 3-under 69 in the final round to finish 9-under for the tournament (71, 69, 69, 69 = 279) at the Gary Player Golf Course to claim a prize money of 372,906 euros.
Sharma, whose only other top 10 finish this year was an impressive T-2 finish in January at the $8 million HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi, was coming off five missed cuts followed by a T52 at the Mallorca Open in late October.
Defending champion Tommy Fleetwood of England shot a five-under 67 for back-to-back titles, finishing 11-under for the tournament, winning by one shot over Ryan Fox, who ended 10-under after carding a 68.
Sharma, tied seventh overnight with 6-under, raised hopes of victory with four holes left after he birdied the par-5 14th hole to get to 11-under, drawing level with playing partner Fleetwood, who had just recovered superbly from the bunker for an eagle on the hole. Fox, the other player in the group, also birdied the hole for a three-way tie for the lead.
While the winner went on to par the last four holes, the Indian slipped after bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes. Fox bogeyed the final hole to finish one shot back.
The event was held after a three-year gap because of the Covid pandemic.