Shubhankar Sharma emerged as the best Indian golfer in the world, grabbing the 72nd position in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) after his recent title triumph at Maybank Championship on Monday. Sharma has enjoyed a golden run over the past few months on the international stage, clinching his first European Tour win at the Joburg Open in December last year.
The world no. 462 soon catapulted to no. 226 after his victory in South Africa. The win in Kuala Lumpur elevated Sharma from 193 to 72, a gain of 121 spots.
Sharma, who resides in Chandigarh and has his roots in Jammu, has broken into the top-100 for the first time and also emerged as the highest ranked Indian in the world surpassing PGA Tour regular Anirban Lahiri, who is currently placed 76th in the OWGR.
The 21-year-old Indian now also has the rare distinction of leading both the European Tour Race to Dubai and the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
His latest success also helped him join the exclusive club of Indians who have achieved two wins in the same European Tour season, the others being Jeev Milkha Singh (2006) and Anirban Lahiri (2015).
The race to represent India at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics just got a lot more intense as there are now five Indians in the top-200 of the world.