Dubai, January 21

India’s Shubhankar Sharma carded a 5-under total that gave him a tied-16th finish, his best position, at the Dubai Desert Classic here today.

Sharma, whose previous best finish here was a tied-22nd in 2021, played solidly on a course that had a challenging rough and penalised small errors. He shot a 2-under 70 in the final round, with five birdies against three bogeys. The win fetched him over a hundred points on the Race to Dubai Standings.

“I would say it is very positive and very gritty. I wasn’t feeling too well at the start of the week. So, I had to be patient with the body and the game,” Sharma said. “I thought I managed myself, and I know there wasn’t a very low round, but this golf course isn’t the easiest. This week, I had four decent rounds of par or better. Every round could have been better by a couple of shots. After knocking off the rust of December, I’m quite happy with this week. Hopefully, this will get better,” he added.

Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy (70) stood firm over the final nine as his main rivals Adrian Meronk (71) and Cameron Young (74) fell over in the final round, with the world No. 2 maintaining his love affair with the tournament. He successfully defended the title and won it for a record fourth time, eclipsing the previous best of three by Ernie Els.

Amateur record

Nick Dunlap tied the lowest round by an amateur in PGA Tour history on Saturday, shooting a 12-under 60 to carry a three-shot lead into the final round at The American Express in La Quinta, California. Dunlap, a 20-year-old sophomore at the University of Alabama, posted 10 birdies and an eagle to finish at 27-under 189 through 54 holes. — Agencies