KUALA LUMPUR: India’s Shubhankar Sharma returned to the scene of his famous victory on the Asian Tour fueled with the belief that he can repeat his winning act when the Maybank Championship starts this Thursday (March 21).
The Indian closed with a stunning 10-under-par 62 to claim a two-shot victory at the Saujana Golf and Country Club last year and became the first Asian and only the second Asian Tour member after inaugural Australian winner (2016) Marcus Fraser to clinch the title.
Sharma’s win at the Maybank Championship last year was the springboard to greater success as he went on to clinch the Asian Tour Order of Merit title that year.
Sharma’s win also saw him break into the World’s top-100 (72nd) for the first time in his career, and the victory also played a key part in enabling him to secure an invitation to the Masters Tournament last year.
“I have some very special memories from last year. It just feels like yesterday that I won here. I made that putt on 18 and was waiting in scorers for the rest of the field to finish. It's great to come back as it was my biggest win.
“I love the course here. I had a good finish the year before last, when I finished in the top 10. Last year was obviously the win, so special memories from last year and am looking forward to this week,” said the World No 120.
Apart from a tied-second finish on his domestic circuit this year, Sharma’s results abroad have not been impressive by his lofty standards. The 22-year-old, however, vows to set the record straight especially at an event which he has been victorious before just last year.
“The start of the year hasn’t been that great, to be honest. I would obviously like a better start but I’ve been working on a few things in my game. Golf is a precision sport and you’ve just got to get even the small things right.
“There have been a few things which have not clicked for me this year. But having said that, I’ve very good memories from this place and hopefully it can kick-start things, just like what it did for me last year,” said an optimistic Sharma.
Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond is looking forward to live up to his billing as one of the highest ranked players on the Official World Golf Ranking in the field this week.
Ranked 78th in the world, the young Thai has enjoyed a spectacular start to the season, especially with his third Asian Tour victory in Singapore at the beginning of the year. Having taken two weeks off to recharge, the 23-year-old is mentally fresh and ready for the challenge.
Malaysia’s Nicholas Fung is meanwhile hoping to better his previous best result of a tied-24th place finish which he achieved at the inaugural edition in 2016. Fung is hopeful his local knowledge of the course and weather conditions will be advantageous as he chases his second win on the Asian Tour this week.