CHANDIGARH:
Shubhankar Sharma became the youngest Indian to clinch the Asian Tour Order of Merit on Saturday with a groundbreaking 2018 season. The Chandigarh-lad won the Order of Merit with a total winning purse of $755,994. He played nine Asian Tour tournaments.
Sharma, 22, joins fellow Indian golfers
Jyoti Randhawa
,
Arjun Atwal
, Jeev Milkha Singh and
Anirban Lahiri
who have won the Order of Merit as the top-earning pros on the Asian Tour, with Jeev the only Indian to have done so twice — in 2006 and 2008.
“To be honest, l never thought about it in my wildest dreams. It has been a crazy year for me. But for me getting the Arjuna Award was an absolute honour. I am not looking far ahead, right now my aim is to finish the year on a high at the Indonesia Masters which will begin next week in Jakarta,” Sharma told TOI.
“The Asian Tour Order of Merit was something very significant for me, as were many of the other milestones, but with this I have followed in the footsteps of golfers like Jyoti Randhawa, Arjun Atwal, Jeev Milkha Singh and Anirban Lahiri, which itself is a great achievement,” he added.
This achievement caps off a consistent 12 months for Sharma, who won his first big title almost exactly a year ago at the Joburg Open, co-sanctioned by the European Tour and the Asian Tour. He also picked top spot in Malaysia’s Maybank Championship in February, besides reaching a career-high ranking of 64 during his first Top-10 finish on the Asian Tour this year at the Indian Open in March. He went on to play all four Majors and qualified for the other three and also played all four World
Golf
Championship (WGC) events.
Asked about his packed schedule, the youngster said: “It was very tiring this year. I tried to play as many tournaments as possible, which took a toll on me. I will definitely plan better next year.”
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