Sharma stays grounded in pursuit of Masters dream
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[February 14, 2018]
By Sudipto Ganguly
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Two European Tour
titles in two months is a dream-come-true for Shubhankar Sharma but
the Indian youngster is trying to stay grounded as he chases a spot
at this year's U.S. Masters.
The 21-year-old overcame a four-stroke deficit to claim a two-shot
win at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia this month for his
second European Tour title.
He sunk 10 birdies in a remarkable closing round in his triumph at
the Saujana Golf and Country Club, a little over a month after his
maiden three-shot victory in the Joburg Open.
Sharma is now the highest-ranked Indian in the world at 71st and if
he can get into the top 50 it will bring him an invitation to the
Masters in April and The Players Championship.
To do that he needs to perform well in the Oman Open and the Qatar
Masters before the WGC-Mexico Championship in Mexico City next
month.
"My immediate goal is to just play well in the next two events,"
Sharma told Reuters in an interview from his home in Chandigarh,
where he was fine-tuning his game with long-time swing coach Jesse
Grewal.
"Because if I do well enough at the next two, I might have an
outside chance of qualifying for the Masters. I just want to keep my
feet grounded and my eyes on the ball."
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The Joburg win earned Sharma a ticket to this year's British Open at
Carnoustie and the opportunity to rub shoulders with the top
players.
"I played with reigning British Open champion Henrik Stenson in
Malaysia, I was very, very happy playing with him on the third day,"
said Sharma who turned professional at the age of 16.
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"I can't really pick one player but I am very excited that I will be
playing the British Open and Tiger (Woods) most probably will be
playing, so to be in the same field with him will be fantastic."
His father quit the Indian army to help his son chase his
aspirations and Sharma was six when he went to a golf course for the
first time and got hooked on the sport.
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"Dad got a set for himself and cut down two irons that I used to
play with," he said. "I used to sometimes caddy for him and just
have fun at the golf course. Those are my earliest memories.
"I just liked going to the course. I used to just try to get the
ball in the air because the first few years I couldn't get the ball
in the air.
"Just the joy of seeing the ball fly in the air probably got me
addicted."
Becoming the first Indian golfer to win a major remains the ultimate
goal for Sharma.
"At the end of the day it's just another tournament, just that the
conditions are tougher and it's a world-class field," he said.
"You have to just play good golf for four days and I don't see any
reason why I can't do it."
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly,; editing by Ed Osmond)
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