Shubhankar Sharma and Manu Gandas. Filepics
April 26: Manu Gandas will join Shubhankar Sharma for the Korea Championships Presented by Genesis as the DP World Tour returns to Korea for the first time in a decade.
Gandas, winner of the Indian PGTI Order of Merit in 2022, which earned him full playing rights on the DP World Tour, has now made seven starts on the Tour with modest results as he has made the cut in three of them with T-28 at the Thailand Classic being his best.
“It has been a tremendous experience playing with some of the best names in Europe and on so many different courses,” said Gandas, who is also looking to playing as the season moves to Europe next month.
“I am gaining a lot of experience and am slowing finding my feet on the DP World Tour. I had a good outing in Thailand, where I played all four rounds under par. At some of the other events, it has sometimes been close, but as the season gets on I am sure it will get better,” added Gandas, who played a lot of junior and amateur golf with Sharma.
Meanwhile Sharma after a superb Top-10 finish in Abu Dhabi in January has not been able to capture that form except when he was T-13 at the Hero Indian Open. “It’s a long season, and I am sure things will get better,” said Sharma recently.
Poland’s Adrian Meronk, the first golfer from his country to play at the Augusta National at the Masers earlier this month, is hoping to build on an exciting season that has included his second DP World Tour victory.
Meronk will tee it up in the first round at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in the company of two home favourites, Wang Jeunghun and Kim Yeongsu.
For three-time DP World Tour winner Wang, it is a welcome return to his homeland after resuming his career this season following 18 months of military service.
Meanwhile Kim is aiming for more success at the 2015 Presidents Cup venue, where he sealed victory in the 2022 Genesis Championship, one of two victories last season that helped him top the KPGA’s Genesis Points Award and secure a DP World Tour card in the process.
Germany’s Yannik Paul joins Meronk in making his first trip to Korea and he is aiming to build on mindset changes that have yielded success so far in Asia, with back-to-back runner up finishes at the Thailand Classic and Hero Indian Open in February, and a tie for sixth place at last week’s ISPS HANDA-CHAMPIONSHIP.
