WISHAW: Leading Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma returned his best card of the week — a 3-under 69 — yet ended up tied 34th at the Betfred British Masters here on Sunday. England's Richard Bland won the title, returning a six under 66 on the final day for an aggregate of 13 under par on the 72-hole course.
Sharma, who was the only one among a pack of four Indians — Ajeetesh Sandhu, SSP Chawrasia and Gaganjeet Bhullar — to make the cut. He had five birdies on the final day. But he also gave away two bogeys to finish the week on 4-under.
On the other hand, veteran Bland was in a different league altogether as he clinched his maiden European Tour win in 478 appearances, overcoming the up-and-coming Italian golfer Guido Migliozzi in a play-off shoot.
On Sunday, the Englishman showed great tenacity despite an extremely tough challenge from Migliozzi . Bland first made a huge birdie putt to finish on 13 under par. But when the Italian forced a playoff with a four under 68, the 48-year-old Englishman once again showed he was not willing to back down.
Bland rolled his birdie to within three feet of the cup, even as his Italian counterpart overshot the hole by a distance. Even as Bland completed the formalities with a nudge, Migliozzi missed his par putt. IANS