Shubhankar Sharma's hopes of winning on his PGA Tour debut were dashed by a torrid final round on Sunday but the 21-year-old Indian's performance at the WGC-Mexico Championship has made the golfing world sit up and take notice.
Sharma teed off in the final group along with Phil Mickelson and Tyrrell Hatton at Club de Golf Chapultepec holding a two-shot lead and needing one more great round to become the youngest winner of a World Golf Championships event, as well as the first to win in his first WGC start.
However, his lead soon vanished and a closing stretch of four bogeys in his last six holes condemned him to a three-over 74 in the final round, pushing him down to a tie for ninth on 274.
"A little bit disappointed, I was leading and I think I couldn't finish it off today," said Sharma. "But that's what the game is about. And what I learned, especially playing with Phil, I'll cherish it forever."
A Big Season Already
Sharma has already tasted victory this season with European Tour wins in South Africa and Malaysia, with his Jo’burg Open win even earning him a ticket to this year's British Open at Carnoustie.
Sharma, who lives in Chandigarh, though his family hails from Jammu and Kashmir, is the country's highest-ranked golfer at No 66.
A top 50 spot is needed to punch his ticket to next month's US Masters but the tournament has in the past invited a non-exempt Asian player, raising the possibility that Sharma might make Augusta National without qualifying automatically.
Two years ago, Sharma had two tournaments left to earn enough money for a full card on the Asian Tour. In the final round of the Manila Masters, he shot 62 to tie for fourth and lock up his card. At the end of his first full season, he shot 61 in the second round of the Joburg Open and went on to win. That was co-sanctioned with the European Tour, giving Sharma membership on two tours.
And then last month in Kuala Lumpur, Sharma again closed with a 62 to win the Malaysian Open and shoot to the top of Europe's money list.
The Anirban Lahiri Connect
And to think Sharma might never have seen a golf course except for the most unusual coincidence.
Sharma and Anirban Lahiri — the player he replaced as India's No 1 — are both Army brats. Retired Col Mohan Sharma was stationed at the same post as Lahiri's father, a gynecologist, when Sharma's younger sister was born.
"He was the doctor for my wife, and my wife was going through a tough time with blood pressure," Mohan Sharma said. "He's very kind and a fine doctor. His son was a top junior at that time. My son was turning 7. And he said to me, 'This is a great game. You'll find that if you take him to golf.'"
The Army colonel and his son went to the golf course together for the first time.
"No one in our family played golf," Shubhankar Sharma said. "He bought a set and I would tag along with him on the course. After a month or two, he got me a cut-down 2-iron. That was my first club."
Sharma didn't hit it very high, but he was straight. And he loved it.
"He's got such a great temperament," Lahiri said. "I played with him last year at the Malaysian Open. He got off to a rough start, hung in there and managed to finish in the top 10. I was really impressed with his grit. He's got a really stable head on his shoulders. And the best thing about his golf is he can really go low. He's not scared to make birdies in bunches."
Mohan retired from the Army to look after his son, who turned pro when he was 16. Turning pro so early kept him from wearing his country's colors at the World Amateur Team Championship and other amateur competitions. But it made him determined to succeed.
"I always wanted to set the bar high," he said. "I thought setting the bar high helped me push myself. And it's the only thing that pushes me every day."
'Can Tell He Can Play Well’
Five-times major champion Mickelson, who defeated Justin Thomas on the first playoff hole to win the event, had mistaken Sharma for a member of the media on Saturday but will no doubt be able to put a name to the face in future.
"I saw how well he struck the golf ball. He hit a beautiful tee shot on one, you can tell he can really play," Mickelson said.
"I saw some of the putts, some of the highlights with the putter. I know he's a very talented player and I believe he's leading the Order of Merit on the European Tour, so I know what a great player Sharma is. I probably shouldn't say that, he's 26 years younger than me!"
With his two European Tour victories, Sharma seems poised for a breakout year and compatriot Arjun Atwal said he has the mental game to match his golf skills.
"To me, he has a very calm attitude. He doesn't get flustered, he takes everything in his stride and that's what I've always noticed about him," said the first Indian winner on the PGA Tour.
"He's been very level-headed since I've known him. I can't see him being upset or cussing. It's amazing to see what he's doing at the age of 21.
"Shubhankar has got the type of game that you can't pinpoint what he needs to improve or get better. There's nothing that he's very exceptional at, but the thing is that every part of his game he's very good at doing.
"He's like a Steve Stricker or Jim Furyk. When you play with these guys, they don't do anything exceptional, like wow, but everything that they have in their game is good. There's nothing bad at all."
A Road Trip That Started it All
Sharma already has a clear vision of where he wants to be, thanks to a road trip like none other in 2015.
On the range with him in Mexico was Gurbaaz Mann, who played sparingly at Arizona State as a walk-on and worked on golf equipment in Ohio before he needed to return home to India after his father died. He now is promoting the Indo-American PGA to help more Indian kids make it to America. Mann was caddying for him in Mexico.
Sharma was among 10 players who flew to New York in the summer of 2015. They rented a 15-seat van, stacked the clubs in the back and off they went. Mann used social media to arrange pro-ams to raise money for the trip, and they had enough left over to send one of the players to Q-school in America.
They travelled south to Houston, northwest to Seattle, down the coast to San Francisco, over to Iowa, up to Cleveland. The trip covered some 12,500 miles over 45 days. If nothing else, Mann says it was a chance to see America and the ultimate destination for an aspiring golfer.
"There must be Americans who haven't done what we have," Sharma said with a laugh.
(With inputs from AP and Reuters.)
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