Kartik Sharma stood tied-7th after 72 holes but a final round 74 pushed him down for a T-26th finish in Thailand
22-year-old left-hander Kartik Sharma of Delhi and 30-year-old Khalin Joshi of Bangalore shot matching scores of 9-under 346 over 90 holes in the Asian Tour Qualifying Tournament Final Stage to finish tied for 26th and earn their playing rights for the 2023 season.
Sharma was the 2021 PGTI Rookie of the Year and has multiple top-10 finishes to his name but has yet to win. His best finish was second in the Pune Open Golf Championship in Nov. 2021. Sharma calls DLF Golf & CC, Gurgaon, his home club and enjoyed an illustrious amateur career.
“I thought I had prepared very well [for the Q-School Final],” Sharma said. “I think a lot of sweat and hard work went into preparing for the Q-School which is in my opinion by far the toughest tournament we professionals play. I came to Thailand 10 days in advance to kind of prepare for this week and play as much as I could… Didn’t really have any time off after the tour championship in late December because I wanted to make sure I was well prepared for school and I guess the hard work paid off.
“In the 2023 season,I just want to improve as a player, keep working hard and see where that takes me.”
Joshi, an Asian Tour winner (2018 Panasonic Open), shot 72-70-71-66-67 to earn his card. He was tied for 42nd after 72 holes but climbed 16 spots with his bogey-free final round of 67.
A total of 77 players survived the 72-hole cut, which fell at three-under. The 2023 season features 11 events over the first 14 weeks, starting with next month’s star-studded US$5 million Saudi International Powered by SoftBank.
Credits:-
Photo – PGTI