Shubhankar emerges triumphant in dramatic finale

Shubhankar Sharma today emerged triumphant on a dramatic final day of the inaugural Kolkata Classic to capture his second title of the season here.
Shubhankar, who posted a four-under-68 today, ended the week with a winning total of nine-under-279 at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC).
There was heartbreak for Bengaluru's Khalin Joshi (71), who finished tied second, despite leading till the final hole of the Rs 30 lakh event. Kolkata's Shankar Das brought cheer to the home crowd as he delivered the day's best score of 67 to join Joshi in tied second at eight-under-280.
It was a keen tussle between two of India's bright young prospects, Shubhankar (68-72-71-68) and Khalin (71-69-69-71), on the final day.

Gurgaon golfer Shubhankar, who began the day in tied fourth, two off the lead, produced some excellent iron-play to accumulate four birdies till the 14th. He finally caught up with the overnight leader Khalin after a good recovery from the bunker that led to his fifth birdie of the day on the 16th.
The 19-year-old Shubhankar, who recorded a win and a runner-up finish on the PGTI last month, then seemed to have slipped out of contention as he overshot the ninth green to drop a bogey. However, there was a final twist to the tale.

Joshi, who was one ahead with three birdies for the day till he stepped on the 18th tee, landed his drive to the right and also missed a chip-putt on the last hole to concede a disastrous double-bogey that handed the title to Shubhankar.

Shubhankar thus garnered his third professional title and took home the cheque worth Rs. 4,50,000 to move up from second to first position in the Rolex Ranking. His season's earnings read Rs. 13,00,000.
"I did well with the irons today even though I think I was not at my best. It was tense out there towards the end. I thought Khalin will easily win at the end but I got lucky when he double-bogeyed the last," Shubhankar said.
"I was looking for a chip-in from the back edge of the 18th green but my caddie advised me to go for a chip-putt instead as he informed me that Khalin had just missed the fairway and was in trouble on the 18th. I immediately changed my strategy thanks to the timely advice of my caddie," said Shubhankar, an Asian Tour rookie.

"This has to be counted as a better season for me than 2013 when I last won the Rolex Ranking. In 2013 I had played 17 events but this year I became no. 1 despite playing just eight events. I have to be proud of this effort," Khan, who posted a top-10 in every event he played on the PGTI this year, said.
"I played fewer events on both the Asian Tour and the PGTI due to my wrist injury and also the injury suffered after a bike accident. But I made the most of my limited opportunities this year. I've regained a lot of confidence with the Rolex Ranking win. This will help me get my game back on track in the next Asian Tour season.

"I feel I put pressure on myself in the early stages of today's round by expecting a bit too much. But I came back well later on. The 10-feet birdie conversion on the 17th was crucial in keeping me ahead in the Rolex Ranking race and also to seal the runner-up spot."
Shamim Khan mastered the greens today as he chipped-in for birdie on the sixth and sank five birdie putts from a range of 25 to 45 feet during his round of nine-under-63 that equaled Rashid Khan, Arjun Atwal and Edwart Fraytt's previous course record.
It helped him claim tied third place at the event and second position in the money list.

Gaganjeet Bhullar (69) and inaugural edition winner SSP Chawrasia (71) also took a share of third place, five shots behind the winner.
Jyoti Randhawa came in sixth at nine-under-279 after firing a top-class 66 in round four.
Aman Raj (71) finished joint 10th at four-under-284 to win the Emerging Player of the Year title.
Shubhankar Sharma, the money list leader coming into this event, posted a disappointing 76 in round four to also end up in tied 10th. He thus slipped in the Rolex Ranking from first to third.
Shiv Kapur ended tied 15th at two-under-286 while Kolkata's Rahil Gangjee and Bengaluru's Chikkarangappa, last year's McLeod Russel Tour Championship and Rolex Ranking winner, were both tied 23rd at one-over-289.

Mukesh Kumar secured tied 26th at two-over-290 and Kolkata's Arjun Atwal claimed tied 36th at six-over-294. Jeev Milkha Singh closed the week in 50th place at 11-over-299.
Final Scores:
273: Pariya Junhasavasdikul (66, 68, 68, 71); 276: Rashid Khan (70, 64, 70, 72); 278: Shamim Khan (70, 73, 72, 63), Gaganjeet Bhullar (71, 68, 70, 69), S.S.P. Chawrasia (70, 68, 69, 71); 279: Jyoti Randhawa (70, 69, 74, 66); 280: Khalin Joshi (67, 72, 71, 70); 282: Amardip Sinh Malik (68, 70, 74, 70); 283: Abhijit Singh Chandha (74, 71, 70, 68); 284: Mithun Perera (73, 71, 72, 68), Aman Raj (74, 70, 69, 71), Shubhankar Sharma (70, 68, 70, 76).