Hua Hin, Thailand, February 18: Left-hander Kartik Sharma had made up his mind sometime last year to turn professional, but he went through 2019 going through his last set of events as an amateur.
The lost was quite impressive for the winner of the New South Wales amateur tournament.
Sharma is a great fan of Seve Ballesteros but he also wants to play like Phil Mickelson, because like the latter is a left-hander. After a fine amateur career, he played and earned rights on the Indian PGTI Tour.
Now he is in Hua Hin to take a shot at an Asian Tour card. It will no be easy, he knows, but he is ready with his father on the bag for the Final Stage of the Q-School.
The field of 244 players from 30 countries and India has 18 players in the field. The Indian players in the field of 244 players are Ankur Chadha, Harsheet Singh Sethie (A), Kartik Sharma, Aadil Bedi, Himmat Rai, Karan Pratap Singh, Honey Baisoya, Manu Gandas, Veer Ahlawat, Sunit Chowrasia, Abhinav Lohan, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, Yashas Chandra, M Dharma, Priyanshu Singh, Khalin Joshi, Gaurav Pratap Singh and Amandeep Singh Johl.
Sharma said, “I came here two days ago and I’ve been practicing here, trying to get to know the courses. It’s been good so far. I just turned professional and I’ve already played one event as a professional back home. This is my first time playing in the Asian Tour Qualifying School so I’m very excited.
“I would like to stick to my processes this week and just try to play my best golf out here. I have always wanted to play on the Asian Tour. I’ve seen great Indian players like Jeev Milkha Singh and Shubhankar Sharma doing so well out here and it was very inspiring to see how much they have progressed in their career from here. I would like to be like them too.”
Talking about himself, he went on, “I am from Delhi and I used to play tennis when I was about 10 years old. I made a switch to golf at about 11 to 12 years old. I realised I liked it and from then on, I saw myself competing in a lot of golf events. My father is on my bag this week. He has caddied for me for a few times now.”
In the 12 months leading up to the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championships (AAC) in Shanghai, Sharma won three times at home, once in Australia and also had a Top-5 in South Africa besides gaining experience at some of the well-known golf courses like the Royal Melbourne, where he later played the Junior President’s Cup in December.
Sharma trains with former India player, Anitya Chand in the DLF’s Excellence Programme. The programme also gives him a chance to learn from Austrian coach, Jonathan Manie, who has coached Matt Schwaab and Xander Schauffele. Manie visits India for a week or so three or four times a year.
Sharma won the New South Wales Open amateurs in early 2019 and then became only the second Indian after Rayhan Thomas to make the International Team for the Junior President’s Cup.
In 2018 at the AAC he was T-13 and in 2019 he looked set for a top-10, but a disappointing final round saw him finish T-22.
Japanese hotshot Rikuya Hoshino, who sits in 116th place on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) is the top-ranked player in the field. He is attempting to secure his Asian Tour card in his first appearance at the Qualifying School this week.
Meanwhile Sajawat Sriprasit of Thailand will have the privilege of having his mentor Chawalit Plaphol, a four-time Asian Tour winner, on his bag as he chases one of the prized Tour cards on offer this week. The 23-year-old had progressed from the First Stage of the Qualifying School last week.
The 2020 Asian Tour Qualifying School, which comprises of two stages – First Stage and Final stage, attracted a total of 458 entries from 37 countries across the globe.
All 244 players will play the first two rounds. After 36 holes, the field will be cut to the leading 140 players and ties who will then play 2 further rounds. After 72 holes, the field will be cut again to the leading 70 players and ties, who will then play the fifth and final round. At the conclusion of 90 holes, the leading 35 players and ties will be ranked accordingly for the 2020 season.
