Augusta, 06 April: On a seemingly benign day in Augusta, the Masters proved a tricky test. Shubhankar Sharma, making his major debut, battled all day with himself and the course to eke out a disappointing 77. The exacting young man was visibly distraught at his returns, and left the course intending to perform better on Friday.
Tony Finau made a hole-in-one and dislocated his ankle in the ensuing celebration. The lanky American calmly pushed his bone in place and came out on Thursday to produce a brilliant 68 for the clubhouse lead.
The final groups, including those of Jordan Spieth (-7 through 17) and Rory McIlroy (-3 through 17) were on their way to the clubhouse.
Shubhankar got a taste of the Masters medicine very early in the day. Starting at the first tee just after noon, the 21 year-old played clean golf through the first three holes.
But his putts were sliding by the cup and an inevitable penalty came at the par-3 fourth hole, where he was trapped in the green side bunker. He worked past the steep bank with finesse but a two putt meant that he went one over.
Shubhankar slipped to three over by the sixth hole – after taking three putts on both the fifth and sixth. “The putter on the front nine and approach on the back nine, I would say,” opined Shubhankar, when asked about his struggles on Thursday. “It was a mix of both. But yeah, like I said, I can still shoot a good round tomorrow and get back into it.”
To his credit, Shubhankar did not allow the run of play to effect his confidence. He bounced back with a birdie, his first of the day, on the par-4 ninth hole to make the turn in 38 strokes.
Shubhankar worked up a sweat to try and bring his card back to even territory, but despite birdies at 13 & 15, he was to return to the clubhouse with disappointment writ large over his face.
The 72nd ranked Indian suffered five bogeys on the return stretch including three in a row from the 16th to slip back to five over at the end of the round.
“The course was great. I think it was good scoring conditions today. The pins were pretty decent and you had a good chance of attacking most of the pins on the course today,” said Shubhankar. “So, yeah, I think more of the same tomorrow and it wasn’t too windy today, if it stays the same way tomorrow, I’ll be able to shoot a good score and see a good round tomorrow.”
Matt Kuchar made five birdies on the back nine to go home with a 68, tied with Finau for the clubhouse lead.
