Sharma gives up gains, shoots 73; Fitzpatrick lead in Dubai

Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma looked on course for a good start, as he was well placed at two-under through 14 holes, before dropping three bogeys to be placed tied 33rd in the DP World Tour Championship here on Thursday.Sharma, who came to Dubai riding high on a superb third place finish at the high-profile Nedbank Challenge last week, had three birdies against one bogey on fourth before he dropped shots on 15th, 16th, and 17th to go over par for the day.

Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma looked on course for a good start, as he was well placed at two-under through 14 holes, before dropping three bogeys to be placed tied 33rd in the DP World Tour Championship here on Thursday.

Sharma, who came to Dubai riding high on a superb third place finish at the high-profile Nedbank Challenge last week, had three birdies against one bogey on fourth before he dropped shots on 15th, 16th, and 17th to go over par for the day. Three three-putts and a bad shot or two spoilt what could have been a good day for the Indian. Winner of four Rolex Series events, Tyrell Hatton and reigning US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick share the lead with cards of seven-under 65 each on the Earth Course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates. Alex Noren of Sweden was sole third with 66, while Spaniard Adri Arnaus shot 67. Last week's winner Tommy Fleetwood, who has a mathematical chance of winning the Race to Dubai, was among the pack of five tied at 68 each.

Sharma is returning to the DP World Tour Championship for the first time since 2018, when he had rounds of 67-66 on the second and third days before crashing down with a final round of 80. ''Three three-putts, on the fourth, 15th and 16th cost me a lot. Then the ball caught the slope and rolled down after landing on the green on 17th,'' said Sharma. ''Three days still to go, but this could have been a lot better.'' Talking of his previous visit to the event, four years ago, Sharma said, ''I am a different and much better player now. More mature and I have a lot more shots.'' Fitzpatrick began in a brilliant manner, holing everything from everywhere. He was five-under through five holes. Though the birdies did not come at a pace anywhere like he would have liked, he still managed two more on eighth and 14th, but most importantly kept bogeys off his card.

Despite winning here twice before, Fitzpatrick's 65 was his lowest round here. ''I think the biggest thing I'm pleased about today is just hitting 17 greens, and the one I missed, I was a complete idiot. That was the big thing that I was happy about today is that I kept giving myself chances and putted well as well.'' The leader, Rory McIlroy, who can win the Race to Dubai rankings only by winning this week, needed a birdie on the last to finish in red number at 1-under 71. Yet, at the start he looked to be doing fine at three-under through eight holes with four birdies against just one bogey. Then he bogeyed ninth, 12th and 16th to drop to even par before the closing birdie made it under par for the day.

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