Southampton (US): Facing demanding and gusty conditions, Shubhankar Sharma carded a gritty four-over 74 in the opening round of the US Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills course to lie tied 37th here, Thursday.
The 21-year-old Sharma, who came through the qualifiers in Columbus, had two birdies against six bogeys – three of them on back nine between the 11th and 17th.
“It was pretty tough out there, with some very high scores. I have been here since Friday and played the course a few times, but it was totally different from what it was Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday,” said Sharma, whose two birdies came on the fifth and ninth holes.
Things are always tough at the US Open and considering all that, I was happy with the way I played
Shubhankar Sharma
Meanwhile, World No.1 Dustin Johnson shot one-under 69 to be among the four joint leaders. Only four players were under par for the first day and only Jason Dufner (70) shot even par to be tied fifth.
Many of the big names had a nightmarish day and that included Tiger Woods (78), but Rory McIlroy (80) was the worst among former champions. Jason Day (79), Jordan Spieth (78), Jon Rahm (78), Phil Mickelson (77) and Bubba Watson (77) were among the stars to suffer on the brutal course.
Sharma said, “The club selection on lot of the holes was very, very different from what we had planned. We had to adapt to the conditions. It was tough and windy. I was happy with the way I played front nine, but the back nine was very tough.”