Sharma shoots under par in both rounds but still misses cut

Indias Shubhankar Sharma missed the cut by one shot at the Steyn City Golf Championship, despite producing sub-par cards in the first two rounds here. Sharma, who shot 69 in the first round, scored 71 in the second and despite being 4-under, he missed the cut by one shot.It was especially disappointing for the 25-year-old, who had made the cut in each of five starts before this - four on the DP World Tour and one on the Asian Tour.

India's Shubhankar Sharma missed the cut by one shot at the Steyn City Golf Championship, despite producing sub-par cards in the first two rounds here.

Sharma, who shot 69 in the first round, scored 71 in the second and despite being 4-under, he missed the cut by one shot.

It was especially disappointing for the 25-year-old, who had made the cut in each of five starts before this –- four on the DP World Tour and one on the Asian Tour. He came close to winning his first Rolex Series event when he finished second at the Abu Dhabi Championship.

Sharma, starting on 10th, double-bogeyed the 11th and then had seven birdies and two bogeys, but a late double on eighth, his 17th hole, pushed him to the wrong side of the cut line.

Sharma will be back in action at the USD 2 million Qatar Masters next week.

Meanwhile, South African Shaun Norrish picked up four shots in his last four holes as he came home in 30 and carded the lowest round of his DP World Tour career. The 62 coming on top of a 64 put him at 18-under and he leads by three over countryman, James Hart Du Preez.

His 18 under par 36-hole total matches the record of countryman Ernie Els at the 2004 Heineken Classic but, with preferred lies in place after heavy rain earlier in the week at The Club at Steyn City, Norris will not enter the history books alongside the four-time Major Championship winner.

Home favorite Dean Burmester was third at 13-under.

A truly international player, Norris spent three months on the Japan Golf Tour between August and November last year but he made the most of the trip, winning the Japan Open Golf Championship for his sixth win in Japan to go with another win on the Asian Tour and two on the Sunshine Tour.

On his return, he finished third at the Joburg Open and has since also secured a top ten at the Ras al Khaimah Championship presented by Phoenix Capital to sit 51st in the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.