Shubhankar Sharma played two solid rounds to make the weekend at the Omega European Masters inside the top 10. Image courtesy DP World Tour.
By Rahul Banerji
Shubhankar Sharma made a strong statement of intent to share eighth place after the second day of the Omega European Masters in Crans Montana, Switzerland, on Friday.
With rounds of 6 under par 64 and 2 under 68, Sharma was on 8 under 132 alongside seven others including former Hero Indian Open winner Eugenio Chacarra of Spain at the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.
Defending champion Thriston Lawrence of South Africa produced a stellar second round of 63 to move two strokes clear of a strong field that includes Spanish superstar Sergio Garcia and Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed.
Another former Indian Open winner, Japan’s Keita Nakajima (67-63), was solo fourth on 10 under 130 behind a two-way tie for second place between Jeremy Paul of Germany and Spain’s Nacho Elvira at 11 under 129.
Shubhankar mixed six birdies with four bogeys including three on on the back nine after an opening bogey-free 64 had him tied for second place on Thursday.
Mixed fortunes
The Chandigarh golfer, who turned 30 in July and is in his 13th year as a professional, has had mixed fortunes on the DP World Tour so far and is well down the rankings to 179th.
In the remaining events for the season, he needs a strong showing to climb back into the top 100 and ensure his card for the 2027 season.
India’s other player in the event, Yuvraj Sandhu, had a second round 5 under 65, a 12-shot improvement on his first round 77 but it was not enough to save him from the cut.
lawrence, who began the day one shot off the pace, delivered a flawless display, carding seven birdies to reach 13 under par after 36 holes.
Having opened his round on the tenth tee, the South African required some early patience and found his first birdie on the par three 13th.
The next birdie at the 16th sparked a run of six consecutive gains around the turn to reaffirm the 29-year-old’s dominance in the mountains.
A par save on the fifth, where he holed his fourth shot out of the bunker after a failed attempt with the putter kept the momentum going and the five-time DP World Tour winner finishing with a string of pars to post a clean card.
Low score
Elvira matched his best round in more than three years, carding a 62 to sit two shots back and in a tie for second alongside Germany’s Jeremy Paul.
The Spaniard picked up five shots across his opening nine holes, steadying the ship after an early bogey at the second, before adding a further four birdies on his way home.
His efforts earned him the low round of the week so far and marked his best display since the Made in HimmerLand in July 2023.
Also read: Lahiri, Sharma in star-studded lineup for DP World India C’ship
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