Who is Shubhankar Sharma? 5 things to know about Indian golfer making it big at The Open Championship 2023
India's Shubhankar Sharma has astonished the golf world with his incredible performance at the ongoing 2023 Open Championship. After the second round, he was tied for fourth position with Jason Day and Min Woo Lee.
Sharma finished with a total of three under par 139 after two rounds of 68-71. He'll start round three seven strokes behind leader Brian Harman.
Shubhankar Sharma kicked off the major championship with two consecutive birdies on the first two holes. On the eighth hole, he made a bogey on Thursday. He finished the first round with a 68 and ended the second round with three birdies, one bogey, and one double bogey for a total of 71.
#1 His early life
Shubhankar Sharma was born on July 21, 1996, in Jhansi, India. He did his schooling at Bal Bhawan School in Bhopal and played on the Professional Golf Tour of India before joining the Asian Tour and the European Tour.
#2 Shubhankar Sharma has won 8 professional events
Having turned professional in 2013, Shubhankar Sharma started his journey playing on the Asain Development Tour. During the initial days of his career, he primarily played on the Asian Tour events, where he finished fourth at the 2014 Panasonic Open India.
Sharma has won eight professional events in his career, including two on European Tour, one Sunshine Tour and six other events.
Here is a list of the professional tournaments won by Shubhankar Sharma:
- 2017 Joburg Open
- 2018 Maybank Championship
- 2014 Cochin Masters
- 2016 PGTI Players Championship
- 2016 Kolkata Classic
- 2016 Tata Open
- 2017 Take Open Golf Championship
- 2017 McLeod Russel Tour Championship
#3 Shubhankar Sharma is a strict vegetarian
Sharma is a strict vegetarian and highly religious person. He claimed to have never eaten meat in his life.
In an interview with Golf Digest, the Indian golfer discussed his strict vegetarian diet, saying:
"I've never eaten meat in my life. My whole family is vegetarian. It's a religious choice. I definitely struggled in my first year on tour, trying to figure out the travel with my diet. Not all the places we go understand. I'll say, 'I don't eat chicken or meat,' but I'll still get a plate of food with meat in it. But the European Tour has been great in helping me get the food that I need."
"I've also gotten smarter about it," he added. "I travel with pre-prepared vegetarian meals, so if I find myself in a situation where I don't have any vegetarian options, I can just pop one of them in the microwave and I'm all set."
#4 Sharma is allergic to gluten
The Jhansi-born golfer is allergic to gluten. He enjoys eating Indian food and loves to eat broccoli and rajma-chawal (rice).
Speaking about his favourite food, Subhankar Sharma said via Golf Digest:
"I eat as much broccoli as I can get my hands on. I munch on dried fruits all day. Bananas are great, and energy bars are high in protein."
#5 Sharma has won Arjuna award
Shubhankar Sharma is the recipient of India's second-highest sporting honor, the Arjuna Award. He received the award in 2018 from former Indian President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on September 25.