Sharma falters on windy day

JEJU ISLAND (S KOREA): Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma had a modest start in cold and windy conditions to card a 2-over 74 in the first round of the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges here today. Sharma, who finished tied-10th at the CIMB Classic last week, is tied-47th. He is six shots behind the leader, Chez Reavie (68).

Shubhankar Sharma is 47th after shooting a 2-over. File

Jeju Island (S Korea), October 18

Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma had a modest start in cold and windy conditions to card a 2-over 74 in the first round of the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges here today. Sharma, who finished tied-10th at the CIMB Classic last week, is tied-47th. He is six shots behind the leader, Chez Reavie (68).

The 36-year-old Reavie hit 15 of the 18 greens in regulation to shoot a 4-under. Reavie is in search of his second career PGA Tour victory, and first since 2008. Former Masters champion Danny Willett and South Korea’s Si-Woo Kim are tied-2nd, one shot behind Reavie. There are seven players, including Ian Poulter, at 2-under in tied-4th place.

Brooks Koepka, the 2017 and 2018 US Open champion, opened with a 1-under.

‘Hands warm’

Sharma had an eventful three-hole stretch with a bogey on the second and back-to-back birdies on the next two holes. He ran into trouble on the par-3 seventh, where he double-bogeyed. On the back-nine, Sharma had three bogeys and two birdies.

“It was pretty tough out there. It was pretty windy and cold and it was tough,” Sharma said. “Not used to playing in cold conditions and I was just trying to keep my hands warm the whole day. I will try to come back strong tomorrow,” he added.

“I made a few bad decisions on the course as the winds were swirling a lot. Made some bad errors on the par-3 holes. The course is fantastic, pure and I don’t find any blemish. The winds made it tough for sure,” he added. — PTI

Ridhima tied-5th in Women’s Indian Open

Gurugram: Norway’s Tonje Daffinrud sizzled at the finish with a hat-trick of birdies to open up a two-shot lead after the first day of the Women’s Indian Open here today. India’s Ridhima Dilawari, playing only her second event as a professional, had a stunning finish with three birdies in the last four holes, generally regarded as the most difficult stretch. Ridhima shot a 3-under 69 and is tied-5th alongside 2011 champion Caroline Hedwall of Sweden and England’s Florentyna Parker. The next best Indian is Gaurika Bishnoi (71) at tied-11th, while Tvesa Malik, Afshan Fatima and amateur Sifat Sagoo shot 72s to be tied-18th. Daffinrud’s 6-under 66 was the lowest first-round score at the DLF Golf and Country Club since 2011. PTI