GolfPlus Aug 2018 Digital Edition (August 2018) | Page 62

in conjunction with the Asian Development
Tour.
The intense competition on the PGTI has
contributed in churning out champions
for India at the international level. A
large number of Indian gol¿ ng stars such
as Anirban Lahiri, Shubhankar Sharma,
SSP Chawrasia, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Rahil
Gangjee, Rashid Khan, Ajeetesh Sandhu,
Mukesh Kumar, Chiragh Kumar, Digvijay
Singh, Himmat Singh Rai, C Muniyappa,
Chikkarangappa and Sujjan Singh, have
honed their skills on the PGTI before
going onto achieve international victories.
All these names today have a combined
total 37 international titles and 18 Major
appearances and are members of most of
the major tours across the world.
Anirban Lahiri and SSP Chawrasia went
on to represent India at the 2016 Olympics
while the former also appeared at two
editions of the Presidents Cup. Lahiri
became Asia No. 1 in 2015 whereas
Shubhankar Sharma currently leads the
money list in Asia.
Interestingly, Bangladesh’s top golfer Md
Siddikur Rahman also came through the
ranks of the PGTI before making it big on
the Asian Tour thanks to his two wins.
In order to build on the gains achieved
over the last 11 years, the PGTI announced
it would become an ‘Open Tour’ from
the 2018 season onward. This lifting
of restriction on the number of foreign
players on the tour, set the ball rolling for
the ¿ nal push required in the pursuit of
OWGR status.
The move towards an ‘Open Tour’ resulted
in an increased foreign participation at
the PGTI’s 2018 Qualifying School. The
262 participants in the First Stage of
Qualifying included golfers from South
Africa, Bangladesh, Australia and South
Korea, in what is seen as an encouraging
trend for the future.
Shubhankar Sharma makes impressive Open debut
Sharma becomes youngest Indian to make the cut
at a Major
A record 14th Major appearance for Anirban Lahiri
Shubhankar Sharma made an
impressive debut at The Open, the
year’s third Major, with a creditable
tied 51st ¿ nish at four-over-288
with scores of 73, 71, 71 and 73.
On the other hand, Anirban Lahiri,
who teed it up at The Open for the
sixth time, missed the cut but still
achieved a milestone. Here’s a
look at some stats associated with
the Indian duo’s appearance at The
Open this year.
>> Shubhankar Sharma became the
eighth Indian to play The Open, it was
also his third Major appearance and his
third in 2018
>> Shubhankar became the youngest
Indian to make the cut at a Major as he
accomplished the feat on the eve of his
22nd birthday
>> Sharma emerged as the second
Indian after Anirban Lahiri to make the
cut in his ¿ rst outing at The Open, Lahiri
had done it in 2012
>> Sharma is now only the ¿ fth Indian
to have made the cut at The Open
>> Anirban Lahiri made a record 14th
Major appearance as he equaled Jeev
Milkha Singh on the list of most Major
appearances by Indians, he also turned
out at The Open for the sixth time
>> It was the eighth time that two
Indians appeared at the same Major
championship and fourth occasion when
two Indians appeared at The Open
Anirban Lahiri
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AUGUST
2018
Shubhankar Sharma