Shubhankar Sharma leads race for European Rookie of the Year

Ernie Els (right) and Shubhankar Sharma played a practice round in Malaysia recently. Image courtesy PGA Tour.

By Rahul Banerji

India star Shubhankar Sharma leads the race for the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award with three lucrative Rolex Series events to end the European Tour season.

The ongoing Turkish Airlines Open is one of the three consecutive tournaments Sharma is appearing in.

Next up is the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player and the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, which brings the European Tour’s 2018 season to a close.

Sharma began the season with a tied tenth finish at the UBS Hong Kong Open. He won his first European Tour title, the Joburg Open, where he finished three strokes ahead of South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen.

The 22-year-old doubled his trophy tally at Kuala Lumpur’s Saujana Golf & Country Club, winning the Maybank Championship at the start of February by two strokes from Spain’s Jorge Campillo.

Major show

An invitation to the Masters at Augusta Masters followed and Sharma went on to play the three remaining majors as well.

Close behind in the rookie race are Australian Lucan Herbert and Sam Horsfield of England.

Meanwhile, International team captain Ernie Els is excited at the prospect of leading a squad that could include new faces for the Presidents Cup against the USA in Melbourne next year.

The 19-time PGA Tour winner played two events of the PGA Tour’s recent Asian Swing alongside emerging stars such as Sharma, Korea’s Siwoo Kim and Sungjae Im, Australian Cameron Smith, Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand, Japan’s Satoshi Kodaira, Argentinean Emiliano Grillo, China’s Haotong Li and C.T. Pan of Chinese Taipei.

Els excited

With established members Marc Leishman, Jason Day, Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace, Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Scott showing good form, Els cannot wait for his squad to take shape over the next 10 months.

“Those are the type of guys we want on the team,” said Els, who played in eight Presidents Cups and was assistant captain to Nick Price last year.

“Leish is a superstar, Shubhankar is getting there and Grillo’s been knocking on the door. These guys, they’re going to be the backbone of the team.

“Cameron, he’s also world class now, Australian, and very familiar with Royal Melbourne and the sandhill links, so he could be another star player down there.

“He could be a guy to really lean on. Even if he doesn’t make the team, he’s probably going to be a pick.

‘Fresh team’

“Shubhankar could play it next year, so it could be a real different team, young team, a lot of Asian players, a lot of international players, so I’m looking forward to going with some fresh troops.”

In Korea, Els played nine holes in a practice round with Sharma, whom the South African had encountered during a golf clinic in New Delhi some 10 years ago.

He also spent time speaking to various other potential international team members, including 20-year-old Im, the 2018 Web.com Player of the Year.

In eight appearances, Els has been on one winning team when the Presidents Cup was played in Royal Melbourne in 1998.

He also played his way into Presidents Cup folklore for the famous duel-in-the-dark with Tiger Woods in 2003 in South Africa which led to the first tie in the biennial competition.

Woods will captain the US team when the Presidents Cup is held from December 9 to 15 at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club,

Dangerous opponents

The Americans have won the last seven editions, including a narrow 15.5-14.5 win in South Korea three years ago when the International team was on “home” turf.

“There’s still a long way to go (to qualifying), but I’m looking forward to fresh faces.  And the veterans, hopefully they’re playing good,” said Els.

“I just want them to be keen. I want them to be up for it. Obviously our team is not renowned like the US team is.

“They are a well-oiled team, they play Ryder Cups together, they obviously play very well in the Presidents Cup against us, so they’re a very mature team.”

The International team race began in August and will conclude after the Tour Championship next August, with the leading eight players earning automatic selection.  Els will have four picks.

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