Debutant Shubhankar, Ian to play at Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh, July 9 

Shubhankar Sharma, the toast of Indian golf this season, will make his Hero Challenge debut at the iconic Edinburgh Castle.

The event precedes the Scottish Open this week. The 21-year-old Sharma, who hit the European and Asian Tour headlines with two wins at the start of the season, also earned an invitation to the Masters soon after a Top-10 finish in his debut at WGC-Mexico. 

Later he qualified for the US Open. Apart from Sharma, the other five are Ryder Cup star Ian Poulter, four-time PGA Tour winner Charley Hoffman, local golfer Richie Ramsay, crowd favourite Andrew Johnston and the charismatic Rafa Cabrera-Bello, who has played Hero Challenge twice before.

 The Hero Challenge will see six players play in two groups with the top two going into a knockout for semi-finals, followed by the final. Sharma said, "I saw the event a few times on TV when it was in Europe last year and in Dubai. The Hero Challenge will be a great experience at the Edinburgh Castle." Poulter said, "Now this is a different way to start tournament week. I loved taking part in the Hero Challenge in Dubai last year, but this location is going to make it even more exciting."  

Hoffman, who is playing the Scottish Open for the first time, said, "This is the first time I am playing the Scottish Open, and it's definitely the first time I have teed it up in a Castle, so it's shaping up to be a fun week."— PTI