Shubhankar Sharma reveals that his talent was spotted by Ernie Els
Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma has claimed that former world number one Ernie Els had predicted his rise in the circuit a decade ago as the Indian is currently at the 66th position in the world. Shubhankar has been invited to the Masters and he will become only fourth Indian to participate in it.
Despite being a golf player, the 21-year-old grabbed the limelight and it happened because of his consistent performance which helped him improve from 462nd to 66th place in a matter three months and it happened after two European Tour wins and an impressive ninth place finish at the WGC-Mexico Championships last weekend. He was leading the PGA Tour event in Mexico but in the last
Ahead of the Indian Open in Gurgaon, the young golfer disclosed that it was Els who recognized his talent at a coaching clinic in 2008 and guided him to follow the game seriously.
"He put the ball on the tee for me at Delhi Golf Course range and I hit two great shots right near the 100-yard board and he was really happy," he said as quoted by AFP.
"He said you are going to be a great player one day and just keep practising. And for a kid like me who was only 10 at that
In the game of golf, India saw very handful representatives which include the names of Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal, and Anirban Lahiri. Now, the 21-year-old also working hard to stand with them as after all three players he also got an invitation to the Masters in April.
"There still is a lot to be done if you see golf at an international level. Obviously, if you see from Indian standards some people feel I have done well and have to keep playing the way I have and get to the PGA Tour," he added.
Shubhankar was introduced to the game by his father when he was seven years old and the golfer made the game his life’s target. He set a high standard for himself and highlighted Jordan Spieth’s achievement of winning the Masters at 21.
"You just have to look at the greats of the game and then you know how much work you have to put in to get there.
"Just the kind of game golf is, anything is possible at any time if you play well. Just like what happened to me after November, I was 571 in the world and now I am 66. I knew I had the game in me," Shubhankar stated.
Before putting his heart and soul into golf, he tried soccer, basketball, and cricket but the encouragement from his father who served as an officer in the Indian army helped him in turning pro at 16.
"I am really happy that finally golf is getting a lot of attention in India and I think we need that," he said.
"Just to get more and more players to the PGA Tour and just telling the general public about what golf in India is all about and we have so many great players playing at the world stage."
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