Shubhankar emerges triumphant

Shubhankar Sharma on Friday 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.