Shubhankar Sharma: The 21-Year-Old International Golfing Sensation

Shubhankar Sharma is the highest ranked Indian golfer in the world having won 2 European Tour titles this season.

Shubhankar Sharma is the highest ranked Indian golfer in the world.

(Photo: Reuters)

• Only one golfer has won two European Tour titles already this season.
• After winning the Joburg Open and Malaysian Masters titles, he finished tied ninth at the WGC-Mexico Championships.
• He is now ranked 66th in the world and has earned a special invite to the hallowed Augusta Masters, the year’s first golf Major.

All of the above are the achievements of 21-year-old golfing star Shubhankar Sharma, now also slated to become the youngest-ever Indian to play at The Masters.

On the day he received the invite to tick off one of targets on his bucket list, The Quint caught up with the young star on the sidelines of the Indian Open.

“Tell us how life has changed for you,” I asked him, as we settled-in for the interview. “So much has changed in just the last four months,” was his reply. “In November, I was only just inside the top 600 in the world, and now I am ranked 66th”. How’s that for context?

Shubhankar Sharma is that next-big Indian golfer you want to mark out to follow on your Tour leaderboards.

And he’s only just getting started.

Here some excerpts from the interview.

Your father gave up his job in the army to help you with your career. As things stand right now, do you think you’ve managed to say ‘thank you’ quite fittingly?

My dad, I think, has always been proud of me.  He sacrificed his career for me. He took premature retirement from the army just to walk with me and travel with me as much as possible. He has been a great support. My whole family, my mom as well, they have sacrificed a lot for me to be where I am. I am sure they are very proud of me.

You just played one of your career’s biggest tournaments, the WGC-Mexico Championships, where you were leading a field with stars like Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, after 54 holes. But, you did have some trouble, when you first met Phil, a day before you started in the same group as him... two shots ahead of him!

He was putting and he was about to tee off so obviously he was in his zone, he was practicing.  I just thought I’ll go and say hi. So I went and said, “Hi, Mr Mickelson”, and he looked up at me. He gets so many requests for photos and interviews so he probably thought I was from the media or that I was a fan, so he said, “Not right now, after the round”. As soon as he looked up, after 5 seconds he knew I was playing the tournament and he said, “I am so sorry. Didn’t mean to say this. Well played till now”. Then he hit a few putts and again came up to me and said, “Play well today”. It was really nice, my first encounter with him. He is a legend of the game and I was happy to get a chance to play with him.

Back on our shores, we hear you may owe your golfing career to pro-golfer Anirban Lahiri? We hear his father helped introduce you to the sport?

Anirban’s dad delivered my sister in 2002. That was around the time I started playing golf. At the time, Anirban was the number one junior in the country. I don’t remember anything actually, I was too young, but this is what my dad tells me. That Anirban’s dad told him to put me into golf because it is a great sport. That is how I started playing.

You now have a European Tour card for two years, following your wins this season, but those don’t get you a ticket to The Masters, do they? You finished outside the requisite rankings but have done well enough to actually earn an invite! How does that feel?

They have said that I ‘accepted’ but I had no choice.  Obviously, I will accept an invitation to The Masters but yes, I got a call from Mr Buzzy Johnson yesterday. He is the Senior Director for The Masters. He said, “We would like to extend an invitation to you for The Masters”. It was the best phone call I have ever received and I can’t wait to get to The Masters in April.

Two titles already, more than Rs 6 crore in prize money in four months and a top 100 ranking. Would you say you have anything left on your year’s target list?

There are so many targets – trying to win as much as possible, finish in the top 10. Golf is a game where you can’t really limit yourself. You have to keep pushing yourself. I think the whole season is left for me. Not only this season, now I will be playing in the big leagues and in the bigger tournaments. I just have so many goals. I am trying to take every week as it comes and trying to do my best.

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