Indian Sharma revels in best birthday ever at Carnoustie
CARNOUSTIE: India’s promising young golfer Shubhankar Sharma said making the cut at his first British Open was the best possible birthday present he could have wished for.
Sharma, who turned 22 on Saturday, carded a final round of two-over-par 73 to finish the tournament four-over, but he said his presence and that of several other golfers from the Asian Tour over the weekend at Carnoustie reflected an increasing influence in world golf.
Sharma is new to the majors this year and missed the cut at both the Masters and the US Open, but he said he hadn’t really felt nervous this week apart from the second round when he was racing to get inside the cut.
“I’m really happy,” he said.
“It’s the best birthday present that I could have had. Really happy with whatever happened this week.
“I would say I felt the pressure on the second day, a little bit, when I was outside the cut line and really wanted to play the weekend.
“Because it was my birthday yesterday as well, so I didn’t want to be sad on my birthday.”
Sharma recorded his maiden victory on the European Tour in the Joburg Open late last year, earning his spot in the British Open in the process. And he said he had learnt a lot from his experience on the Scottish links to take forward.
“I haven’t played too much links golf before this, and this is only my third time, and it’s definitely very different compared to what we play normally, especially back home in Asia,” said Sharma, who was almost prevented from taking part in the Joburg Open over visa problems.
“It’s very, very different. So a lot of learning. I felt like I’ve just grown as a player this week, and can’t wait to get back here next time and just draw on the experience that I got this week.”