Some Indian sports news in January 18 2023

 

Amandeep Drall dropped two late bogeys on the back nine but still had a share of the lead with Pranavi Urs at the end of day one of the second leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour 2023 on Wednesday. The duo shot 1-under 69 each at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club and were one ahead of Mysore golfer Disha Kavery (70), who is only in her third season as a pro. Two amateurs, Vidhatri Urs (71) and Nishna Patel (72), were third and fourth, while Vani Kapoor, who will shift her focus to the Ladies European Tour next month, carded 73 after a rough front nine of 3-over.

She shot 3-over 73 as did Asmitha Sathish and Afshan Fatima.

Four others -- Sneha Singh, Lakhmehar Pardesi, Khushi Khanijau and Ananya Datar -- were tied ninth with 75.

Amandeep, playing for the first time since the season-ending events on the LET Tour in 2022, had an early bogey on the second but three birdies in a row from sixth to eighth and another on the 11th saw her go 3-under. She then dropped shots on the 14th and 17th to finish at 69.

In contrast, Pranavi, who is likely to play on the Epson Tour in the US this season, birdied the first and fourth but dropped a shot on the ninth to reach the turn in 1-under. She parred each of the nine holes on the back-nine to finish at 69. Disha Kavery had one bogey on the front nine and another on the 12th, but back-to-back birdies on the 14th and 15th, saw her card even-par 70.

Last week’s winner Seher Atwal had a difficult day with 7-over 77. She bogeyed three in a row from eighth to 10th and then a double bogey on Par-3 13th added to her woes as she finished bogey-bogey for a 7-over card. She was lying tied 15th.

Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma will be hoping for a good start to the season when tees off at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championships here on Thursday. At 26, Sharma is already feeling like a veteran as he begins his 11th year as a professional here. Entering the paid ranks at 16, he rose very fast. By 2018 he was on the DP World Tour and had two wins in matter of four starts around the turn of 2017-18.

On Thursday, he will start his first round with Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen and Englishman Matthew Southgate from first tee, while Belgian Thomas Pieters, targeting back-to-back wins on the Yas Island, is paired with two other past champions Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood from the 10th tee. Sharma will also try and prove once again that nice guys do win. In his years on DP World, he has earned praise not only for his game but also his great demeanour.

Pieters, the defending champion, said, “Shubhankar (Sharma), he’s one of the nicest kids I’ve ever met. His dad, as well. Always saying thank you, please. He is very well brought up. He’s just a really nice kid. He’s well-mannered. There’s nothing to dislike about him.” On Sharma’s game, Pieters added, “He’s got a very good golf game obviously. I think he hits really good stretches where he putts it well and drives it well, and then he goes off and has a couple months or half-year that he doesn’t really perform. But that’s golf and that’s just a part of growing up and dealing with those kind of stretches. Everybody has them.” Sharma has kept his card since, but has not been able to convert close finishes into wins.

Two of those excellent performances came in 2022, one a runner-up finish at this very tournament and at the same Yas Links and then there a third place at the Nedbank Challenge, the penultimate event of 2022.

“I had a great start and then it was a lull in the middle for various reasons – some club issues, a niggle in the back and then Covid. There were Top-15s in Kenya, Dutch Open and Singapore, but towards the finish was strong with third place in Nedbank in South Africa,” Sharma said, recalling last season. “At the DP World Tour Championships I did just enough finishing in mid 40s but that helped me finish the year in Top-30 on the DP World and secure a place for the 2023 (British) Open. So, I would call the year a mixed bag.” Sharma, who has played at Abu Dhabi every year since he came on the Tour fully in 2018, loves the place.

“It is a great place. Great places to go to and see. I went to the Ferrari World (across the Yas Links) here and I have great memories from the tournament last year. The elite Rolex series events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are a great way to start the year.

“I played with Viktor Hovland and Rafa Cabrera Bello last year in the final and ahead were Shane Lowry and Thomas Pieters. It was really close. A late bogey cost me a chance to get into a play-off.” Séamus Power makes his tournament debut following his appearance in last week’s Hero Cup. The Irishman also won his second PGA TOUR title at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in October last year and currently leads the FedExCup standings.

There are 19 members from last week’s Hero Cup teams, including the 2021 winner Tyrrell Hatton, as well as Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald and his vice captains Thomas Bjørn, Nicolas Colsaerts and Edoardo Molinari.