A week before the Joburg Open, Shubhankar Sharma wasn’t even scheduled to play in South Africa, and only a last-minute decision by the young Indian had him setting out to land in the rainbow nation.
Very few, if any, could have predicted what would have happened over the course of the next week, as an inexperienced Sharma headed for Randpark Golf Club. Sharma took to the Highveld layout as if it was his home course.
A steady opening round of 69 was a good start, but what was to follow during his second round put the foundations in place that would not only help him win a maiden European Tour title, but also change his life for good.
A second round 61 was enough to get the golfing world’s attention as Sharma made a huge climb up the leaderboard. With one of the biggest field’s assembled for the Joburg Open, given it was a co-sanctioned event between three tours, the Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour and European Tour, Sharma’s initial goal was to play well and just be one of the 240 players to make the cut.
Waking up on moving day and being in contention would have been a lot more than he had initially expected, but the sure-footed Sharma didn’t fall and instead put the foot down over the next two rounds shooting 65 and 69 to eventually win by three shots over South African Erik van Rooyen.
Coming into the week, Sharma was ranked 462nd, but now sits at number 226 after moving up 236 spots on the official world golf ranking. Doors will now start opening like never before for Sharma, and even his odds of winning this week’s Indonesian Masters have come down, with him at 30/1 to win the event. With a £142,000 first prize in the bank, and a two-year exemption on the European Tour, All eyes will be on him to see whether he can kick on from his first European Tour win.
There were added bonuses for Sharma that came with winning the Joburg Open. He was one of three that secured their places at the Open next year at Carnoustie. The others to do that were runner-up Erik van Rooyen and third-placed Shaun Norris. Sharma will compete in his first Open at Carnoustie, and punters who think this man will defy the odds again at the Open next July can access a £30 free Unibet stake at sportsbettingtips.co.uk.