Sharma Gets a Surprise, Plays Pro-Am with Cricketer Lara; Ready for Test at Desert Classic

Dubai, Jan 22 (PTI) No sooner had he arrived in Dubai after a week in Abu Dhabi, Shubhankar Sharma had a surprise waiting for him at the Pro-Am of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic here.

The 23-year-old, who was coming to Dubai for his third straight start at the storied event, immediately learnt that he was paired with cricketing legend Brian Lara for the Pro-Am.

"That was a nice surprise and I loved playing with him," said Sharma, who was T-29 with all four rounds below par last year.

"We talked on both cricket and golf, me asking about cricket and him a bit about golf. He plays very well and has a single digit handicap," added Sharma.

"We got along pretty well and decided we would try and catch a round, whenever we could, in India or elsewhere. He sure was very nice and I know how big a name he is in cricket and he is a household name even in India."

While Sharma was at the Pro-Am, Gaganjeet Bhullar, also making his third start at the event, was admiring the skyscrapers, which form a stunning backdrop to this Emirates Golf Club.

"This city always fascinate me," said Bhullar, who had a good weekend last year with a pair of 69s and ended T-38th.

Both Sharma and Bhullar felt scoring would be tough this time with the thicker-than-usual rough. And it was a similar view from many of the other stars, too.

Sharma said, "The premium will be hitting the ball straight and in thee fairways. So, you wont see many drivers – sure they will be there on some holes, but there will be more of 3-woods."

Bhullar concurred, saying, "You miss the fairways and you could be headed home early. The greens are lot smaller and fairways narrow and the rough is up."

Sharma plays with Ryan Fox and Steven Brown at 8.10 am in the morning. Fox is one of the players to have had their birthday on Wednesday -- the other being Eddie Pepperell. Bhullar goes out with Sean Crocker and Jeff Winther in the afternoon at 12.10 pm.

Jeev Milkha Singh is the Indian with most appearances at Dubai Desert Classic with 17 starts, of which he made the cut in nine. His best was T-6 in 2001 and another good result was T-10 in 2013.

Almost all the players felt the rough would pose a problem.

Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau said, "Last year, I didn't drive it my absolute best but I was still able to get it done. It's going to take great ball-striking, iron play, and making a lot of putts.

"My wedge game is much improved I feel like and personally I'm looking forward to the new test this week; the rough is a little bit longer, so being in the fairway is going to be key, and if you have a great wedge game, you can get up-and-down and fix those mistakes you have, it's definitely a viable option to win."

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