Shubhankar eyes double in landmark season

Shubhankar Sharma tees off on the 6th hole during day one of the DP World Tour Championship.

India's Shubhankar Sharma is living the dream and the rising golf talent could finish what has been a stellar season with a double.

Barring any blips, the 22-year-old has more or less wrapped up the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year on his debut season on the European Tour and he could cap it by also winning the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

And Shubhankar said it would be amazing if he can get both done, starting with the Rookie of the Year, over the course of the DP World Tour Championship, the climax of the European Tour season.

Shubhankar, who won the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this season, to add to the Johannesburg Open, his maiden victory on the European Tour in 2017, is 26th on the Race to Dubai standings with 1,381,291 points.

And a decent finish in Dubai will see him land the Rookie of the Year ahead of Australian Lucas Herbert (42 on the Race to Dubai) and England's Sam Horsfield (51), who both need to finish in the top three to deny the Indian.

Shubhankar, who had set the early pace on the Race to Dubai, will take the mantle from Spaniard Jon Rahm, who won it last season.

"It has been great. I'm very, very happy that I have made it here," Shubhankar told reporters after his first round at the Earth Course of the Jumeirah Golf Estates on Thursday.

"I couldn't have really thought about it this time of the year last year. So, definitely really happy with how the season has been and I just want to finish it on a strong note. And the next three days will dictate that," he added.

Shubhankar said that adding the Asian Tour Order of Merit to the Rookie of the Year will be the icing on the cake, so to speak.

"If I can finish as the Rookie of the Year this year, that will be amazing. You can only do it once in your career and then it will be great if I can get that honour. And also, obviously, the Asian Tour Order of Merit is on the line as well, so if I can get both, that will be great," said Shubhankar. He lads the Asian Tour Order of Merit with $695,994 ahead of South Korean Sanghyun Park, who has $561,898.

The Asian Tour season comes to an end with the BNI Indonesian Masters from December 13 to 16.

Meanwhile, Shubhankar endured an up-and-down round on Thursday to finish one over and tied 47 after having started the day on three-under. "I had a great start but not too happy with the way it finished," he said.

Nonetheless, Shubhankar was still hopeful that he can turn it around over the weekend.

"I still feel like I have a low round in me and that can be tomorrow (Friday), the day after (Saturday) or even on Sunday. So, I have to just be patient. It is a four-day tournament and I will try and make a good comeback tomorrow (Friday)," said Shubhankar, who also had to deal with a blister on his feet over the course of his round.

james@khaleejtimes.com