India’s Shubhankar Sharma has confirmed his participation in the upcoming AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at the Heritage Golf Club from 5-8 December 2019, and at a time when Indian golfers are moving closer to a maiden victory in this tri-sanctioned tournament between the European Tour, Asian Tour and Sunshine Tour.
Sharma has led a resurgence in Indian golf over the past two years. He won two European Tour titles in the space of three months, including becoming at the age of 21 the youngest Indian to win on the European Tour with his Joburg Open triumph in December 2017.
In 2018 he became only the fourth Indian golfer to ever play in The Masters, and his rise on the world stage saw him also named the European Tour’s 2018 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year and crowned the 2018 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion.
Sharma’s meteoric career path has been matched by strong performances from his countrymen in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open in the last two years.
In the 2017 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at Heritage Golf Club, the experienced Arjun Atwal lost in a playoff to Dylan Frittelli. A year later, Chikkarangappa S. finished second to American Kurt Kitayama, and said Sharma had definitely inspired this new generation of Indian golfers.
“Shubhankar has really shown the way for a lot of Indian youngsters. As Indian golfers we’re now out in the world and playing with the best. Jeev Milkha Singh told us there were only four or five Indian golfers on tour during his time. Now we have closer to 25, and about 15 of us holding a full card on the Asian Tour and a couple on the European Tour,” he said.