Shubhankar Sharma endures tough start to US Open, ends day at T-37

Sharma entered the top 100 ranking for the first time in his career earlier this year after he managed to win the Maybank Championship in February 2018, an event co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the European Tour. Following that win, at the 2018 WGC-Mexico Championship, Sharma held the lead after the second and third rounds.  

However, Shubhankar crumbled from there and ended with a final-round 74 as he finished the tournament in a tie for ninth place. Sharma then received an invitation to play in the Masters Tournament, which made him the fourth Indian to play in the Masters after the likes of Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal, and Anirban Lahiri.

At the ongoing US Open, Sharma had a tough start as he found the demanding and gusty conditions difficult to cope with. Sharma recorded a gritty four-over 74 in the opening round at Shinnecock Hills to lie tied 37th here. During the course of the round, Sharma had two birdies against six bogeys - three of them on back nine between the 11th and 17th.

"It was pretty tough out there, with some very high scores. I have been here since Friday and played the course a few times, but it was totally different from what it was on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday," Sharma told PTI sources, whose two birdies came on fifth and ninth.

World Number one Dustin Johnson shot one-under 69 to be among the four joint leaders. Only four players were under par for the first day in the US Open and only Jason Dufner (70) shot even par to be T-5th.

Sharma was critical of his performance on the day and also cited weather as a possible reason for a dismal outing in the tournament.

"The club selection on a lot of the holes was very, very different from what we had planned. We had to adapt to the conditions. It was tough, windy and I remember from the time I was at the range at 7.30 am it started and it became gusty and it stayed like that tough till 4-5 pm. I was happy with the way I played front nine, when I was one-over.

"The back nine was very tough. Personally, I hit a few good shots, but they ended in bad places. Like on 17, the wind stopped suddenly and I ended going over and it was a tough up and down (and it was a bogey)," Sharma added.