CHENNAI: After the promise, the emptiness. That’s what Shubhankar Sharma will be waking up to on Monday morning after a Sunday where he just did not find his zone in the final round of the CIMB Classic. He began the last day as joint leader, when he finished he was T-10, a sign that the 22-year-old, who won the Arjuna Award only last month, is still a work in progress. The signs were ominous from early on.
The par-4, 444-yards second hole had been a problem and he again dropped a shot. He made up for it with four birdies (sandwiched by a birdie) in the out nine to be still within touching distance of the leading group. But dreams of becoming a first-ever win on the PGA Tour went up in flames as he bogeyed the 11th, 12th and 13th holes. It was the first time that he had dropped shots in any of those holes all week and the pressure began to tell on the Indian. He played safety first golf after that to finish his tournament at 19-under, seven behind winner Marc Leishman.
The 22-year-old, who now has two top-10 finishes on the Tour to his credit, ruined the start and the way he lost momentum in the middle. He said things might have panned out differently if he had saved a few pars. “Sure, it was disappointing to finish T-10 after being in (the) lead, but I would have gladly taken this before the start, coming from where I was before this week. A top 10, my second one on the PGA Tour, and a 19-under total is not bad.
It gives me a good feeling for the next two weeks in Korea and Shanghai.” True, Sharma’s return to form should be noted as he had endured a few horror outings in the last few months. Since featuring at the Augusta in April, he has played in 14 meets but has made the cut in only five. The two-time European Tour winner said he had momentum on his side after hitting birdies on the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th but a long wait on the 11th killed it. “There was some wait on the 11th hole and I was in between clubs so I was trying to hit a soft rescue and that was probably one of the worst swings of the day and it ended up in the water. That killed the momentum for me.” These misses, according to Jyoti Randhawa, are all part of the learning process. “See, he is still just 22.
These things (last day heartaches after leading after three rounds) tend to happen to most young golfers. All of them go through this at some stage or the other,” Randhawa, who has played three of the Majors, told Express. The 46-year-old said Sharma will come eventually learn to get over the line. “I have been watching his progress and from what I can see he has got a good head on his shoulders. It will only be a matter of time before he comes good.”
Among other Indians, Gaganjeet Bhullar had a good finish with a 7-under 65 that lifted him 15 places up to T-27 as he ended at 13-under 275, despite a closing bogey. Anirban Lahiri (T63) was 4-under 284 for the week. Final standings: -26: Leishman; -21: Hadley, Burgoon, Grillo; -20: Thomas, Oosthuizen, Howell III, Woodland; -19: Kim, Chappell, Sharma.