Sharma starts strongly, Chinese rookie Wenyi shares lead at Joburg Open

Shubhankar Sharma, who claimed his maiden DP World Tour title at this very event in 2017, made a strong start at the Joburg Open, shooting a four-under 66 to lie tied for 17th after the first round.Sharma posted five birdies against one bogey on a solid opening day.Veer Ahlawat, the other Indian in the field, had a rough day with a 3-over 73 despite four birdies.

Shubhankar Sharma, who claimed his maiden DP World Tour title at this very event in 2017, made a strong start at the Joburg Open, shooting a four-under 66 to lie tied for 17th after the first round.

Sharma posted five birdies against one bogey on a solid opening day.

Veer Ahlawat, the other Indian in the field, had a rough day with a 3-over 73 despite four birdies. He was T-127 and will need a good second round to make the cut.

Sharma was barely 20 when he won the Joburg Open, but it was then played at the Randpark Golf Club. In the first round, the Indian started from the tenth and picked birdies on the 10th, 14th and 15th before dropping his only shot of the day on the Par-3 16th. He had two more birdies on the first and the fifth for a 66.

Veer opened the front birdie-birdie but then gave away a double bogey and two more bogeys to turn in 2-over. He again started the back nine birdie-birdie only to drop three bogeys in last four holes for a disappointing 73.

China's Wenyi Ding, who turned pro late last year and gave up a chance to tee up at the Masters despite winning the 2024 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championships, shared the first round lead with England's Jordan Smith after carding a matching bogey-free seven-under 63.

The duo lead by one shot over South Africa's Malcolm Mitchell and Jayden Schaper, Englishmen Marco Penge and Callum Tarren, and Germany's Nicolai Von Dellingshausen.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)