Winner of the 2018 Joburg Open Shubhankar Sharma fired a splendid bogey-free 62 to storm to a two-shot victory at the Maybank Championship, writes WADE PRETORIUS.
Sharma’s splendid Sunday meant disappointment for South Africa’s Dylan Frittelli.
The world No 47, who has two European Tour titles to his name, began the round at the top of the leaderboard but struggled for any type of consistency that he showed in his previous days’ work.
Frittelli started with four pars before getting to -1 with a four on the 5th, but dropped a shot on the 8th to fall down the leaderboard. Looking for a strong back nine to put himself in the frame, a three at the 10th was exactly the tonic he needed.
However, the writing was on the wall as he dropped a shot on the next hole to see the gap to Sharma look insurmountable once again.
The birdie-bogey process was repeated at the 13th and 14th holes before a birdie on the 17th helped move him into a share of fifth place. The South African then flew the final green in two and could not finish fifth alone as he watched his birdie try slide past the right side of the cup.
The Maybank Championship was Frittelli’s 34th tournament worldwide in the last 12 months and will take two weeks off to rest ahead of his final push for a place in The Masters.
Fellow co-leader overnight Jorge Campillo birdied the last for a 68 to finish second alone ahead of fellow Spaniard Pablo Larazzabal and Ryan Fox.
All of the contenders were left in Sharma’s wake as he went out in 31 thanks to an electric run from the 4th hole where he made four birdies in a row before adding his fifth of the day at the 9th.
He was cool and calm on the back nine as he made further gains on the 11th, 13th and 14th before giving himself enough breathing room with two birdies to close.
The 21-year-old Indian came from 19th place for the win with his final round 62 in Malaysia mimicking his second round 61 at Rand Park where he claimed his first win. Now, with another European Tour win to his name, he is ready to continue his meteoric rise, but no longer will he arrive at events under the radar.
Photo: Getty Images
