Shubhankar Sharma feels “great things” are on the way in his game as he prepares to tee it up on home soil at the Hero Indian Open.
Since winning the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award in 2018 after claiming two wins in his debut season, Sharma has become the leading Indian player on the DP World Tour, finishing in the top 100 on the Race to Dubai every year barring the Covid-affected 2020 campaign.
Throughout all that time he had the same equipment but after a change in the off-season he missed his first four cuts in 2024 as he got to grips with his new clubs.
He insists he never lost faith in his game, however, and after having made the last three weekends, he arrives at the notoriously difficult DLF Golf and Country Club feeling ready to contend in his “fifth Major”.
“I’m playing much better now,” he said. “I had some equipment changes at the start of the year so my game wasn’t representing how well I was playing or feeling, it was just new clubs.
“The old clubs, I’d had them for ten years, it was a long relationship so it’s not easy to find clubs that exactly match but I’m happy I’ve found something now which is working and the last three weeks I’ve shot some good numbers which I’m quite happy about.
“The main part of the season is still left, it’s in front of us, so I’m hoping that I can put all of those things together, my feel and my game, and I’m expecting great things.”
Sharma has never missed the cut in his home open, an impressive feat considering five of his seven appearances have been at DLF G&CC.
The 28-year-old is very familiar with the New Delhi layout and believes it will truly show its teeth this week in the second event of the Asian Swing.
“I’m really excited, this is that one event that all of us Indians want to win, especially growing up in India, this was always the fifth Major,” he said.
“Especially this place is home for me. This is where I grew up playing when I first turned professional. I’ve spent so many evenings out here chipping with my friends and enjoying, so really fond memories so it’s always special coming here and playing in India.
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“It’s playing quite hard, the greens are firm and fast, it’s probably the toughest set-up for the Indian Open in the last five years.
“2017 was quite close to this but after that it’s been softer every year. This year the way the course is playing and if they keep it like this, I think under par will be probably top ten.
“It’s going to be a test but it’s always nice to play tough courses. It's a good test of discipline on the course and concentration for all four rounds. It's always nice, I quite like it and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
As the home hero and highest-ranked Indian on the Official World Golf Ranking, Sharma is sure to take good crowds with him in a country that is increasingly falling in love with golf.
Olympic status has raised the profile of the game in the world’s most populous nation and Sharma is eager to try and ensure he will soon have more competition from his compatriots on the world stage.
“It’s really reassuring, it’s really great being a professional and seeing more and more kids taking up golf and just seeing more talent come out of this country,” he said.
“We have so many more players now on the Asian Tour, a couple of HotelPlanner Tour events also happened just now, so many more kids who want to play abroad and really test their talent out which is really fun.
“It’s very exciting times for golf. Cricket is the biggest sport but golf is really picking up. The last five or seven years there has been a big boom especially after it became an Olympic sport, that has been a big incentive for the government to invest more in the sport. More can be done and keep happening in the future but we are on the right track and I’m really happy about that.
“It’s one thing that I’ve always wanted to do, to give back to the kids out here and I try and do that with my junior events that I do here.
“I’m still young so I’d like to think I still have a long career ahead of me. I’m trying to do my best to get as many wins under my belt as possible, it’s been a while since I won so that’s added motivation for me to play well but it’s always good when kids look up to me and even young professionals who are just turning professional, girls and boys, I’m always here to help and it’s something that makes me really happy.”
