International Series India will be a tough challenge, says Sharma

Past Asian Tour order of merit topper Shubhankar Sharma feels the Indian presence will be a significant one at the International Series India presented by DLF in Gurgaon this week. Image courtesy International Series.

By Rahul Banerji

DP World Tour regular Shubhankar Sharma knows the home challenge will be a stiff one at this week’s $2 million International Series India presented by DLF notwithstanding the presence of international heavyweights.

While reigning US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and Joaquin Niemann, the 2024 International Series rankings winner may hold the headlines, Sharma is wary of the threat posed by India’s golfers at the DLF Golf and Country Club from January 30 to February 2.

And he puts that strong domestic challenge down to the experience the players have been gaining on The International Series and Asian Tour in recent years.

Anirban Lahiri, team-mate of DeChambeau and Paul Casey in Crushers GC is one of the local heroes, while 11-time Asian Tour winner Gaganjeet Bhullar will also draw support from the galleries, along with veterans Jeev Milkha Singh, S.S.P. Chawrasia and Shiv Kapur.

Ajeetesh Sandhu, Rashid Khan and Rahil Gangjee are all proven winners on the Asian Tour, with five titles between them.

Others are knocking at the door include Yuvraj Sandhu, 27, T4 at the Mercuries Taiwan masters in October, and 25-year-old Karandeep Kochhar, runner-up at the BNI Indonesian Masters and T5 at the Volvo China Open, both high-profile events on The International Series in 2023.

Going places

Sharma, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour who has plied his trade more recently on the DP World Tour, said: “I can say this very proudly, but Indian golf has done so well in the last 10, 11 years since I have been a professional.

“A lot of the Indian players have applied their craft on the Asian Tour, and this is where I started as well.

“I won the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2018 and that’s where things really started for me, that was my first big trophy and the Asian Tour has always been my home,” added the 28-year-old who has also won twice on the European Tour.

“I have always said that. It’s where I learned to compete with the best and where I got a proper introduction into international golf and it is very heartening to see what the Asian Tour has got with The International Series,” Sharma added.

“I couldn’t be happier for the Asian players and it’s great to see where the game is going and not only for India but for all the other countries that are doing so well. “The fields are getting so much better, there’s more depth and the competition is so much more.

“I think The International Series events just shows that, I played in Riyadh at the end of last season (the season-ending PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers) and I saw what the competition level was, it was low scoring but for me it’s amazing.

“For me it’s a homecoming – not only playing in India but playing on the Asian Tour. It’s much more relaxed and I know everyone so it’s a great atmosphere”, he signs off.

Also read: International Series India a big step for Asian Tour, says Lahiri