Shubhankar finishes Tied-9th at WGC Mexico Championship

Shubhankar Sharma

Overnight leader Shubhankar Sharma struggled with his putts on the decisive final day to fall short of scripting history but the rapidly-rising Indian managed a creditable tied ninth finish at the USD 10 million WGC - Mexico Championship, here.

Going into the final day with a two-shot lead in the star-studded field, Sharma, playing his first PGA Tour and WGC event, posted a three-over-74 to end the week with a total score of 10-under-274. He made four bogeys on the last six holes.

With his top-10 finish at the event that featured an elite field of 64 and the who's who of international golf, the European and Asian Tour Order of Merit leader has now moved up from 75 to 66th in the world rankings.

Sharma (65-66-69-74), a two-time European Tour winner, became the talk of the golfing world after emerging as the solo leader after 36 and 54 holes.

Sharma led by two shots going into the final round with the chasing pack consisting of the world's best such as Major winners Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas.

At the start of round four, the Chandigarh-lad was on the cusp of creating history as he looked to conquer uncharted territory by achieving the biggest win by an Indian golfer in terms of prize money earned (USD 1,660,000), stature of the event (only second to the Majors) and world ranking points earned.

However, as the putts did not roll in for him on the final day.

American star Phil Mickelson (66), playing alongside Sharma in the leader group, went on to win the tournament after defeating compatriot Justin Thomas (64) in a playoff. Mickelson and Thomas were tied at the top with totals of 16-under-268 after the regulation 72 holes.

Sharma now returns home for this week's Indian Open, a tournament co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours.

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