Shubhankar Sharma sure loves the week of The Open, and more so this year as it happens to be the week of his birthday. Last year, he had just made the cut a day before his 22nd birthday, and this year he hopes he will be playing, and playing well on the day he turns 23.

Asked about his birthday falling in the week of the Open week, he said, “Last year, it (my birthday) was on the third day and it was great to make the cut and play the weekend. This time it falls on Sunday, so I would like it to be even more special.”

Sharma, who made his first professional debut in the company of Brooks Koepka in 2013, will be playing with the same man for the first two days of The Open.

However, Koepka, then ranked 436th, is now world No 1 and Sharma, then ranked 1499th, is now 196th, after having risen as much as 64th in March last year.

“I was very surprised when I looked at the grouping. Really looking forward to it. I have played with Brooks before in a (European) Challenge Tour event in India in 2013. Hopefully a lot of people back in India will also be watching it,” said Sharma.

“With Louis (Oosthuizen) a former Open champion, it will be great and lots of people will be following it. I want to have as much fun as I can.”

About the course at Portrush, he said, “It is a great course. But I have not played the full course as yet. I played only seven yesterday (Monday) but I am playing the full 18 today. As for a strategy, it is never easy to one on a Links course. It depends on the conditions, the winds and so on. ”

Sharma was playing his practice round with veteran David Duval and will surely pick the brains of the man, who was champion in 2001 at Royal Lytham & St Annes. On his form coming into the Open, he said, “Last week’s Scottish Open as a low scoring event. I lost a few shots on the first day, but played well on the next three. My coach (Jesse Grewal) is here and we have been working on a few things. I feel my game is coming back.”

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