Gurugram, Haryana, 26-02-2023

Shubhankar Sharma and Veer Ahlawat finish as best Indians in tied 13th as Germany’s Marcel Siem clinches Hero Indian Open 2023 title

Indian duo of Honey Baisoya and Angad Cheema finish tied 20th

Shubhankar Sharma and Veer Ahlawat secured tied 13th place at totals of four-under 284 to finish as the best Indians at the US$2 million Hero Indian Open 2023 played at the DLF Golf and Country Club.

Germany’s Marcel Siem (69-70-67-68) won the tournament with a total of 14-under 274. Siem’s compatriot Yannik Paul (65-69-71-70), the leader for the first three days, finished one shot behind at 13-under 275 to take the runner-up spot.

Shubhankar Sharma (68-74-74-68), a two-time winner on the DP World Tour, produced a last round of four-under 68 to climb 15 spots from his overnight tied 28th. The 26-year-old Sharma made three birdies and two bogeys on his quiet front-nine before making huge gains on the back-nine where he sank three more birdies and did not drop a shot.

Shubhankar said, “I had two very good days and two below average days but I’m happy to end it with a four-under in the last round. The game is good but I just need to put together four good rounds. Even this week I didn’t feel like I played too badly, but this course doesn’t allow you to make too many mistakes and that’s the reason I fell back in rounds two and three.

“Even though I stay in Chandigarh, Gurugram is like my second home as I used to live here so the evenings were fun catching up with my friends here this week. It was nice to refresh ahead of the long DP World Tour season.”

Veer Ahlawat (73-70-68-73), a two-time winner on the PGTI, slipped nine places from his overnight tied fourth after shooting a 73 that featured a double-bogey on his opening hole and a birdie on the eighth.

Veer said, “This finish is a big confidence-booster for me as I had missed the last few cuts on the Asian Tour and was looking for a good result at my home course this week. The ball-striking was excellent this week and I feel I now have the momentum going forward into the season.”

Angad Cheema (68-71-73-74), who was overnight tied seventh, was looking good for a top-10 finish after trading three birdies for a bogey on the first 11 holes. However, a quadruple-bogey 9 on the 18th where Angad found the water hazard saw him close the week with a score of 74 and thus drop down to tied 20th place at two-under 286.

Honey Baisoya (66-74-73-73), who was overnight tied 10th, also finished tied 20th after a round of 73 in the final round that included three birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey.

Yuvraj Singh Sandhu took tied 25th place at even-par 288 while Manu Gandas was tied 32nd at two-over 290.

Among the prominent Indian names, Gaganjeet Bhullar ended tied 44th at five-over 293 while Shiv Kapur and SSP Chawrasia were a further shot back in tied 48th.