Scorecard - India's Newest Golf Star

At 21, Shubhankar Sharma seems to have come of age and set a benchmark for Indian youngsters striving to reach the next level

- Priyanka Sharma

A COUPLE OF months ago, during an interview, golfer Shiv Kapur commented that these are the golden days of Indian golf. When he said this, he also pointed out that the future of the sport in the country was in the right hands. One name that topped his list of India’s next big golf stars was that of Shubhankar Sharma. Senior pros like Jeev Milkha Singh and Anirban Lahiri also voiced the same thoughts.

“India has a great pool of talent and the best thing about these kids is they are hungry and believe they can win at a young age. I really hold Shubhankar in high regard. He is someone who is very levelheaded, hard-working and has the ability to be a world beater,” Kapur had said after lifting his first Asian Tour title in India, the Panasonic Open, at the Delhi Golf Club in November.

Recently, over a span of two months (Oct. 8 to Dec. 10), Indian golfers have lifted four titles on the Asian and sanctioned Tour events—Ajeetesh Sandhu (Yeangder Players Championship), Gaganjeet Bhullar (Macau Open), Kapur (Panasonic Open India and Yeangder Heritage in April) and now Sharma. Veterans Jeev and Arjun Atwal were also in contention during the year, while S.S.P. Chawrasia retained the Indian Open title by a massive margin of seven strokes.