Golf: Shubhankar is keeping an 'Open' mind
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India, July 16 -- The golfing maturity in Shubhankar Sharma is very evident these days.There was a time when he'd travel to the venue, head straight to the golf course from the airport, start beating balls, and play a practice round, preferably two, on the same day.However, as the 27-year-old from Chandigarh prepares to play his fourth Open Championship, he decided to take a day off on Monday despite reaching Royal Troon (Scotland) the night before. A visit to the physio and a brief gym session was the extent of his work before the fourth and final major championship of the season.There are various reasons why he did not touch a club when the world's finest wanted to get acquainted with one of the toughest golf courses in the Open rota as soon as possible.The foremost being - he is already prepared for the challenge with an early reconnaissance trip in May, and he does not want to wear himself down even before the tournament started."You do learn a few things when you have been on the Tour for 12 years now," said Sharma, who finished a remarkable tied eighth last year at Royal Liverpool to earn his spot this year."The thing is, I have a very good idea of the golf course.
I came here in May and played three very good practice rounds alongside my coach Jessie Grewal. We did a lot of work back then, just as we did before last year's Open, and it was very beneficial for me."It gives me the chance to take a day of rest after playing the Scottish Open last week. I have always considered the majors as marathons. As much as you need to prepare well and peak for that one week, you also need to be fresher than most others because it is going to be a grind."Sharma has a spring in his step also because of his round on Sunday in the Scottish Open, where he was 8-under par through 17 holes. A deflating triple bogey on the final pushed him down to tied 39th place, but he has already obliterated that hole from his memory."That was a very important round for me before The Open. I made six birdies and finished even-par on Saturday, and I went into the Sunday round thinking I needed to just get my tempo and rhythm. The triple-bogey finish was disappointing for about 20 minutes, but I saw the positive part of it. I made 15 birdies over the weekend and that just shows I am playing good golf," said Sharma, who turns 28 this Sunday.During his trip to Royal Troon in May, Sharma had to fill in some big shoes. Mastercard was hosting a clinic for some of their clients with five-time Open champion Tom Watson, and the legendary American could not make the event on time because of flight delays.
Sharma was there and was happy to interact with the invited guests."I wish some of his Open success rubs on me. I met him afterward and even got to play a hole with him. I could not ask him too many questions, but just the fact that I was in his company was great motivation for me," said Sharma, who is now the best-ranked Indian in the world at No201.On the golf course, Sharma was in no doubt that it would test the field to the hilt."To start with, it is a beautiful golf course, but there are very few holes where you can afford to take it easy. The back nine, especially, is brutally tough and relentless. In the prevailing wind, almost every hole on that back nine plays into headwind," said Sharma, who has been joined by his whole family this week, which means he can enjoy home-cooked food from his mom."It's a ball-striker's course. Of course, putting is important in any tournament, but if your hitting is even slightly off, it will bite you very hard. It's well-bunkered and putting the ball in position off the tee is going to be key."Sharma has an early start in Thursday's opening round. He is paired with Italy's Matteo Manassero and Sweden's Sebastian Soderberg and tees off at 08:14 local time (12:44 IST).
