Shubhankar Sharma finished birdie-birdie in the final round to register his first Top-10 finish on the European Tour in almost 18 months. The two-time European Tour winner, Sharma finished with 4-under 68 for a T-8 finish at the Made in HimmerLand presented by FREJA in Forso, Denmark.
Sharma’s last Top-10 on the European Tour was in November 2019, when he was T-7 place at the Turkish Airlines Open in November 2019 had a similar T-7 at the Italian Open a month before that.
Sharma’s 68 in Denmark came with four birdies, including two in last two holes, after settling for pars in his first 10 holes on the final day.
With 10 places up for grabs for the US Open in June, Sharma needs to finish in Top-10 of a mini-series list to get one of the slots. A top-5 in Porsche European Open could get him and that also propel him into contention for an Olympic berth.
Meanwhile, Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger defended the title he won in 2019. He claimed his win in style as he led after every round. He started the final day with a one-shot advantage and then dominated proceedings with eight birdies in a closing 64 to finish at 21-under and claimed his eighth European Tour title. The. 35-year-old Austrian’s fourth win since 2019 should get him back to Top-50 of the world.
Italy’s Guido Migliozzi shot a closing 63 to finish second on 16-under, with English pair Richard Bland and Jordan Smith sharing third with Australia’s Jason Scrivener on 15 under.
The win also pushed Wiesberger into contention for a place on Padraig Harrington’s Ryder Cup Team later this year. If he makes the team, it would be his maiden Ryder Cup.
Migliozzi's runner-up finish was his second in as many events after he also finished second to Bland at the Betfred British Masters and his third overall this season.
Charles Schwab Challenge
Jason Kokrak overcame a one-shot deficit to become the third multiple winner of the season as he finished ahead of fav favourite Jordan Spieth in the Charles Schwab Challenge in F orth Worth, Texas on Sunday.
The 54-hole leader Spieth bogeyed three of his first four holes and two of his last four to finish second, while Patton Kizzire claimed a second consecutive T3 finish this season.
India’s Anirban Lahiri had missed the halfway cut with rounds of 77-72.
Kokrak made five birdies and five bogeys to post an even-par 70 and claim his second career PGA TOUR title and second this season after the 2020 THE CJ CUP @ Shadow Creek.
Kokrak became the first player over the age of 35 to claim his first two TOUR titles in same season since Francesco Molinari did so in 2018.
The win should also move him to 22nd place in the Official World Golf Ranking and now joins Bryson DeChambeau and Stewart Cink as multiple winners this season.
Spieth made three consecutive bogeys from, second to fourth and two more 15 and 18 before closing with a 3-over 73
It was his eighth top-10 finish of the season in 18 starts, which is one more than what he achieved in the last two seasons combined.
Looking to claim a second Charles Schwab Challenge title 20 years after his first in 2001, Sergio Garcia was 3-over through his first three holes before closing with a 6-over 76 to finish T-20.
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.