Dhaka, Bangladesh, 13-02-2016
Double whammy for India in Dhaka; Rookie Shubhankar and Chikka both post their best results on Asian Tour
Shubhankar Sharma and Chikkarangappa S, the ‘Gen Next’ of Indian golf, kickstarted their 2016 Asian Tour campaigns by posting their best ever results on the continental tour at the US$300,000 Bashundhara Bangladesh Open.
While rookie Shubhankar (66-68-71-65) bagged a creditable third place at 14-under-270 after shooting the day’s joint best score of six-under-65, Chikka (68-66-65-73), playing his second full season on the tour, ended an impressive tied fourth at 12-under-272 despite a final round of two-over-73.
Nineteen-year-old Shubhankar and 22-year-old Chikka, both of whom recently earned their cards at the Asian Tour Qualifying School, were not the only Indians in the top-10. Shankar Das (70-71-69-65) and Gaganjeet Bhullar (67-67-66-75) took a share of ninth place at nine-under-275 to make it four Indians in the top-10.
Sharma’s previous best finishes on the Asian Tour had come on home turf at the Panasonic Open India’s 2014 (fourth) and 2015 (tied fourth) editions. Shbubhankar, who holds the record for being the youngest winner on the PGTI at age 17, credited his hot putter for a commendable bogey-free round highlighted by six birdies.
“I started very well. I birdied the first two holes. That made a lot of difference. I was able to ride on my momentum from there. I missed some opportunities for birdies out there but it’s alright. I think I played really well, especially on my back nine. I wasn’t in the mix so I didn’t think I had a chance. I just wanted to play my best,” said the 19-year-old Indian, who amassed 25 putts to gain four places from overnight tied seventh.
Chikkarangappa, a winner of two Asian Development Tour (ADT) events, had posted his previous best on the Asian Tour, a tied 10th, at the Yeangder TPC in 2015. Chikka’s final round 73 was punctuated by four birdies, four bogeys and a double-bogey. The 2015 Rolex Ranking champion thus slipped two places from his overnight tied second.
Shankar Das, like Shubhankar, also shot the day’s joint best score of 65, another bogey-free round, to take a giant leap from overnight tied 33rd position to tied ninth place.
Gaganjeet Bhullar slipped five places to tied ninth as a result of his last round of 75.
Rahil Gangjee finished tied 19th at six-under-278, Sujjan Singh and Khalin Joshi were both in tied 35th at two-under-282, while Rahul Bajaj ended tied 41st at one-under-283.
Abhijit Chadha finished tied 51st at three-over-287 while Amardip Malik withdrew in the final round.
About PGTI:
Formed in 2006, Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) is the recognised official body of professional golf in India. PGTI's objective is to promote professional golf in the country, as well as to give players an opportunity to be involved in the decision making on all aspects of the game. Headed by Mr. Kapil Dev (President), PGTI's governing body comprises leading Indian golf professionals. PGTI currently has over 300 members.
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