Shubhankar finishes tied-63rd, Horsfield wins second time in 3 weeks

Newport, August 17

Sam Horsfield recorded his second win in three weeks while Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma rounded off the Celtic Classic with a round of even-par 71 to finish tied-63rd here.

Sharma finished with a total of 2-under 282. It was the first cut he made in four starts during the UK Swing.

Horsfield, who won the Hero Open a fortnight ago, won the Celtic Classic with a fine round of 4-under 67 and a total of 18-under 266 with Thomas Detry (67) second.

Horsfield moves to the top of the UK Swing Order of Merit and has secured a place at the US Open.

Sharma for the third time in four days had four birdies in his round, but also for the third time in four days had three or more bogeys in his round, negating the good work.

On Sunday he bogeyed 1st, 7th, 11th and 15th, but after each bogey he retrieved the shot with a birdie on 5th, 9th, 13th and 18th.

Sharma will now play in ISPS Handa Wales Open and also in the field is fellow Indian Shiv Kapur.

Horsfield, 23, started the day one stroke behind Syme, but shared the lead after the first hole as the young Scotsman dropped a shot.

The Englishman made consecutive birdies on the third and fourth holes and then birdied the seventh before a two-hour delay caused by the threat of lightning at Celtic Manor Resort.

After the restart, he parred the next six holes before his fourth birdie of the day on 14th, and he parred his way home to sign for a bogey-free 67 and an 18 under par total.

Similarly to the Hero Open at Forest of Arden, Belgium’s Thomas Detry finished runner-up to Horsfield after also posting a 4-under par, bogey-free round.

Sharing third place were 2016 Ryder Cup player Thomas Pieters (67), making his first start since the resumption of the 2020 Race to Dubai, Andrew Johnston (68) of England and Connor Syme (71).

Horsfield is also guaranteed a share of £250,000 as part of the European Tour’s Good for Golf initiative.

The top-ten on the rankings after the ISPS Handa UK Championship will share the money to donate to charities of their choice. PTI