World Championship: Teeing up for history

India's Shubhankar on cusp of glory; leads the field in final round at Mexico

World Championship: Teeing up for history

Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma tees off during a round of the World Championship in Mexico City on Saturday

Shubhankar Sharma is now treading territory that has so far been unknown for an Indian golfer. He becomes the first Indian to hold a 54-hole lead in a World Golf Championship (WGC), as he added a two-under 69 to move to 13-under in Mexico City.

Shubhankar with three birdies against one bogey on the front nine, was four shots clear at one stage. He later had two each of birdies and bogeys, but made some great saves, including one on 18th.

Leading the best
He is two ahead of some of the biggest names in contemporary golf. The top-10 after three rounds are separated by four shots and they include four Major winners, Phil Mickelson (65) and Sergio Garcia (69) at T-2, Dustin Johnson (68) at T-6 and at Tied-10th is Justin Thomas, who was on fire with a record-breaking 9-under 62.

Earlier, five-time Major winner and Hall of famer, Mickelson, mistook him for a fan or a journalist and waved Shubhankar off at the practice green, thinking he was media. Mickelson realised his error and apologised and wished as he went to the first tee for the start of his round.

Encounter with a legend
On his brief encounter with Mickelson before the round, Shubhankar said, "To be honest, me and my caddie Baaz, we both went up to him. He thought we were media and he said, "Not right now, after the round." Then he realised and said, "So sorry, I thought you were media," and he said hi, I said hi. Then he made a few putts and he came back to me and said, 'Have a good day.' It was nice."

If Shubhankar wins he will only be the second Indian to win on the PGA Tour after Arjun Atwal's success at the 2010 Wyndham Championships. But no Indian has won a WGC or Major. The best result for an Indian at WGC has been Jeev Milkha Singh's T-4 in 2009 at Doral. The best result by an Indian at a Major is T-5 by Anirban Lahiri at the 2015 PGA Championships.

Shubhankar could go better than both and raise the bar to a new high.