Shubhankar leads top class line up at NBO Oman Open
An all-star cast of European Tour players will cross swords on the exquisite Greg Norman-designed track, over the next four days to contest the $1.75m event
MUSCAT: The ceremonies, practice days and Pro-Ams are out of the way and it’s time for the real business to begin as the NBO Oman Open, the biggest professional sports event in the country’s history, gets underway at the stunning Almouj Golf on Thursday.
An all-star cast of European Tour players will cross swords on the exquisite Greg Normandesigned track, over the next four days to contest the $1.75 million event as the eyes of the golfing world fix firmly on the Sultanate.
Among field is current Race to Dubai Rankings leader Shubhankar Sharma who has taken the European Tour by storm in his rookie season with wins at the Joburg Open and the Maybank Championship.
“This is my first time in Oman and it’s such a fantastic golf course,” said the 21-year-old Indian who revealed that he has been impressed by what he’s found in Oman, both on and off the course.
“I had heard a lot of good things about it before I came from some of the Challenge Tour guys and it certainly lives up to expectation. I played nine holes the past two days and I’m really impressed with the whole course.
“I’ve had such a great welcome from the Omani people, they have been very kind. We are in a lovely hotel so I can’t complain about anything, it’s been fantastic.”
The NBO Oman Open, which offers free entry for spectators, will mark the first time Oman has hosted a European Tour event following five successful years of hosting tournaments on the second tier European Challenge Tour and Sharma believes that this week’s event is a worthy upgrade and one that he would dearly love to add to his rapidly growing collection of titles.
“I’m surprised this is the first time Almouj Golf has hosted a European Tour event as it’s such a great course,” he said. “It’s a tough, long course that can get windy; I definitely think that it’s a championship course. Now they have the event here I’m sure it will continue for many years to come.
“It would mean a lot to win an event in the Middle East especially at such a great course as Almouj Golf. I’m playing well at the moment so hopefully I can have four good rounds and we will see what happens. Every win is special to me so hopefully I can keep going and pushing my career on.”
Hoping for a repeat
One player who will be hoping that history repeats itself this week is Clement Sordet. The Frenchman roared to a two-shot victory in the Challenge Tour’s season-ending NBO Golf Classic Grand Final at Almouj Golf last November to take second place on the Road to Oman Rankings, which saw him graduate to play on this season’s European Tour. “It’s great to be back here in Oman,” he said. “I have great memories here after my victory here in November. I don’t know if I can win again, but I’ll certainly try my best!
“You have to be really good with your course strategy to do well on Almouj Golf. I think the course can be difficult to get around if you don’t pay close attention to where you are hitting it and it can get really windy which makes it tricky.
“I don’t really want to concentrate on trying to win the ‘Oman double’. All I can do is try and play my best and we’ll see if that’s good enough to win a European Tour title.” Full story @ timesofoman.com/sports