Shubhankar Sharma makes Cyprus Open golf cut, sixth on-the-trot
The talented Sharma had a bogey-free opening round and fired an eagle in the second. Compatriot SSP Chawrasia, however, missed the cut.
Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma carded an impressive nine-under after two rounds of the inaugural Cyprus Open on Friday that helped him make the cut of the European Tour event.
Shubhankar Sharma had a bogey-free first round at the undulating Aphrodite Hills Resort golf course in Paphos, boosted by four birdies, to score four-under 67.
In the second round, the 24-year-old Sharma sunk two bogeys in the first two holes but more than made up for it.
He didn’t drop a single shot from there on, carding an eagle on the par-five sixth hole along with five birdies. Shubhankar Sharma ended the round with a five-under 66.
“I think (the two bogeys at) actually made me focus,” Sharma told PTI. “I was joking with my friend that it opened my eyes as I had an early tee off and was a little sleepy on the first two holes.
“We set a target for ourselves, we wanted to finish 10-under for the first two days. We just came up one shy, but that helped me refocus and put things into perspective,” he added.
Sharma, who is tied-sixth, made his sixth straight cut on the European Tour.
Fellow Indian golfer SSP Chawrasia, however, missed the cut for the second successive event.
The 42-year-old Chawrasia finished on even-par in the opening round, that included a double bogey, leaving him a steep hill to climb. His second round was topsy-turvy, with four bogeys and five birdies, and he finished one-under 70.
Chawrasia was one-under after two rounds and tied-83rd and with the cut established at three-under. Chawrasia, thus, made his second straight exit in the European Tour after theItalian Open last week.
While the two Indian golfers managed to finish their rounds on Friday, most of the field couldn’t after play was suspended due to darkness. The golfing action resumed early on Saturday.
Welshman Jamie Donaldson, a three-time European Tour winner, and Englishman Marcus Armitage will head the field into the weekend after they finished 12-under to lead the Cyprus Open by two shots.