Shubhankar Sharma makes Irish Open golf cut, Gaganjeet Bhullar out
With a score of four-over, India's Shubhankar Sharma was tied-47 at the Irish Open after the second round.
Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma braved testing conditions and survived a triple-bogey in the second round to make it to the weekend for the Irish Open. His compatriot Gaganjeet Bhullar, meanwhile, missed the cut.
Starting the second round on Saturday, delayed due to the frosty conditions, at tied-52, Sharma performed decently despite the weather, carding four birdies and three bogeys.
However, a triple bogey on the par-four eighth proved damaging to the Indian’s second day score at the Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort in Ballymena, Northern Ireland as Shubhankar Sharma finished with a two-over on the par-70 course.
Playing in windy conditions in the first round, Shubhankar Sharma held up well on the front nine, carding three birdies and two bogeys to race to the turn with a one-under.
The back nine, though, proved tricky for the two-time European Tour winner as he dropped shots on four holes to end the opening day with two-over 72.
But with the rest of the course struggling with the conditions as well, Shubhankar Sharma’s total of four-over 144 was enough to place him tied-47 and hand him the cut, which was set at five-over.
Gaganjeet Bhullar struggles on comeback
Sharma’s fellow Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar could only manage a 13-over 153 and won’t feature in the weekend rounds at the Irish Open.
Gaganjeet Bhullar, playing in his first tournament in six months, seemed rusty and finished the opening day with a five-over. His first round featured two double bogeys, two bogeys and just a single birdie.
It only went downhill for the 32-year-old Bhullar in the second round as he could only card a single birdie against six bogeys and a triple bogey on the ninth to finish eight-over for the round.
A nine-time winner on Asian Tour and one-time European Tour winner, Gaganjeet Bhullar last played on the Tour in March at the Malaysia Open before the COVID-19 lockdown.
British golfer Aaron Rai, who is of Indian descent, and Australia's Maverick Antcliff jointly lead the pack heading into round 3 of the Irish Open with five-unders.