WGC Mexico Championship | Shubhankar Sharma finishes 9th after a torrid final day

Shubhankar Sharma stumbled on the fourth and final round as he failed to capitalize on his overnight lead. The 21-year-old Indian golfer was tied with two-time Masters champion, Bubba Watson (67) and Canadian Adam Hadwin (66).

Sharma needed just one great round (the final round) to become the youngest winner in a World Golf Championships event. He could’ve also become the first golfer to win in his debut WGC. However, it was not to be as his brilliant run through first three rounds of 65-66-69, fell with a stumbling 74 on the final day. 

He was 14-under at one stage on the third day, but a slump on the fourth day saw him finish with a total of 10-under and in tied-9th place. Phil Mickelson conjured up shots from troubled zones as only he could and worked his magic around the greens to finish the weekend with 65-66 and get into a play-off with another modern-day great Justin Thomas.

Despite a disappointing result, the 21-year old has surely made the golfing world sit up and take notice. This was also India’s second-best finish ever, next only to Jeev Milkha Singh’s T-4 back in 2009. After the game, Sharma revealed that he was disappointed but he learned a lot playing alongside Phil Mickelson. 

“I am a little bit disappointed, I was leading and I think I couldn’t finish it off today. But that’s what the game is about. And what I learned, especially playing with Phil, I’ll cherish it forever,” he said.

“I just felt like nothing went in. Maybe my speed was wrong, something was off. Even on nine, I hit it in the middle of the hole it lipped out again. I never felt like I could get the speed right or maybe the line, it just wasn’t going in, it wasn’t my day. If you would have asked me four months ago that I would be playing with Phil at a WGC on the last day, I would have just laughed. Just playing with him has been fantastic.

“He’s obviously a great man, showed me a few great shots. He’s not afraid to go out there and get it out there and hit it at the pin, and he took some crazy clubs off the tee but that’s what Phil is all about. I’ll never forget it. Especially on 16 where he made birdie, it was the loudest roar I ever heard in life. It was fantastic,” he further added.

Phil Mickelson was all praise for the 21-year old lad who challenged him for more than three days. 

“I saw how well he struck the golf ball. He hit a beautiful tee shot on 1, you can tell he can really play. I saw some of the putts, some of the highlights with the putter. I know he’s a very talented player and I believe he’s leading the Order of Merit on the European Tour, so I know what a great player Mr. Sharma is. I probably shouldn’t say that, he’s 26 years younger than me,” said Mickelson.