Tarragona (Spain), Nov 13 (PTI) Shubhankar Sharma made amends for a disappointing season by earning the playing rights for the 2026 season with a tied second place finish at the DP World Qualifying school’s Final stage.
After making his way through the second stage, where he finished Tied-eighth, Sharma completed a great week in the third and final stage with a final round of 66 that saw him finish tied second.
Sharma had six birdies against one bogey in his final round of 5-under 66 to total 24 under par. He had rounds of 70-69-66-67-66-66. He was 13 shots behind the leader and winner, Zander Lombard of South Africa.
The tied second place will put Sharma in Category 18 and ensure a lot of starts over the season and some good results in the first half could help his re-rank.
Sharma, who turned pro in 2013 at the age of 17, has been on the DP World Tour since 2018. He won the Joburg Open in December 2017 and the Maybank Malaysian Open in February 2018.
Sharma has managed to keep his card all the years and finished inside Top-70 each time except in the Covid-hit season of 2020.
This year he lost his card after failing to make cut in 21 out of 28 Tour DP Tour events he played in 2025.
The 2025 season was one of the toughest Sharma had endured in his professional career. Equipment changes impacted his game and he struggled to find the correct combination.
Lombard finished first in the Q School after shooting 37 under par over six rounds. His round were 64-69-67-64-64-63 and his best round of 8-under 63 being saved for the final day.
Lombard lost his card after having to undergo ACL reconstruction due to an injury sustained while playing padel in June 2024. The surgery to fix his ruptured ligament saw him being sidelined from the sport for seven months resulting in a delayed start to the 2025 season.
The 20 players who made it through the Q-school this week were Zander Lombard, Shubhankar Sharma, Aaron Cockerill, Connor Mckinney, Daniel Rodrigues, Nathan Kimsey, Quentin Debove, Davis Bryant, Benjamin Follett-Smith, Mathew Baldwin, Gregorio De Leo, Andreas Halvorsen, Adri Arnaus, Eddie Pepperell, Jack Yule, Andreas German Gallegos, Sadom Kaewkanjana, Frederico Biondi Figueiredo, Hunter Logan and Mike Toorop. PTI Corr AT AT
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