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THE 147TH OPEN

July 22, 2018

Shubhankar Sharma

Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom

SHUBHANKAR SHARMA: It was a tough finish for me, but I think I played well today. I started off really well. I was hitting it good. Kind of lost my concentration in the middle when I made those bogeys, and I was trying hard to get back towards the end of the round. But happy with the way I played. I had a birdie putt on the last, and I kept trying till the end.

I would say it's a great tournament. Good learning week for me.

Q. Quite ironic that the front nine has been what's troubled you the entire week, and today you had a pretty decent start there.
SHUBHANKAR SHARMA: Yes, I had a pretty decent start. 1-under after nine wasn't bad, and it was decently windy today. So I would say a great start, but that's how golf is. I learned a lot today and thought I played pretty well. All in all, just a few more putts that I could have made, but you're never satisfied as a golfer. So it's all right.

Q. Would you like to talk about the 9th and the 10th hole and what really happened over there.
SHUBHANKAR SHARMA: Yeah, nothing. Just short putts. I think I had this problem missing putts to the left yesterday, and we were trying to figure things out. I think I putted really well through the first eight holes. I was putting well, and then 9th and 10th, the same thing kicked in, and I just pulled both of those putts. Pretty easy putts, to be honest. There wasn't too much break on them, but just bad putts.

Like I said, in the middle of the round, I just lost my concentration there, and those two putts were important. Obviously, after that, it was windy on the 11th hole and hit a bad shot.

But, yeah, I'm still satisfied with the way I played this week.

Q. (Inaudible).
SHUBHANKAR SHARMA: Nothing. It was just small. Nothing too big. We were playing, so we just tried to catch up. Nothing too big. It's all part of the game.

Q. Overall, do you feel you belong in this competition?
SHUBHANKAR SHARMA: Definitely. I haven't played too much links golf before this, and this is only my third time, and it's definitely very different compared to what we play normally, especially back home in Asia. It's very, very different.

So a lot of learning. I felt like I've just grown as a player this week, and can't wait to get back here next time and just draw on the experiences that I got this week.

Q. Did you feel pressure?
SHUBHANKAR SHARMA: Pressure this week? I would say on the second day, a little bit, when I was outside the cut line and really wanted to play the weekend. Because it was my birthday yesterday as well, so I didn't want to be sad on my birthday.

I was happy that I finished really well. But the third and fourth rounds were really enjoyable. It was very fast, and the crowds were fantastic.

Q. Feeling your age this morning?
SHUBHANKAR SHARMA: Yeah. I'm that old, so I'm still not feeling it too much, but, yeah, I'm really happy. It's the best birthday present that I could have had. Really happy with whatever happened this week.

Q. The weather was cooperating?
SHUBHANKAR SHARMA: The weather was nice. Only on the 2nd it got bad in the morning when it rained and was slightly windy. But this is the best weather. A lot of locals told me this is one of the best summers they've had. Even last week at the Scottish Open and Ireland as well, it was just fantastic weather all three weeks.

Q. What's next for you?
SHUBHANKAR SHARMA: Next will be Akron, the WGC in Akron. So I'll take one week off, just gather my energies and just play that week and the PGA, and then I'll have a few weeks off.

Q. It's been a great year for you. What's the next move?
SHUBHANKAR SHARMA: Just keep playing the way I am. I feel like I'm learning a lot this year. Every tournament that I'm playing, every course that I'm playing is for the first time. So it's just going to be that kind of year. So I just have to keep on playing, keep on learning, just playing different grass, different conditions, and at the end of the year, I think it will turn out to be a very, very good year for me.

Q. One final question: This year at The Open, there were 15 players from the Asian Tour, or from Asian background, forgetting the Japanese and the Koreans. What does that say? It was your first Open as well. What does that say about Asian golf?
SHUBHANKAR SHARMA: It just shows that we have such a strong presence now on the world golfing scene. We've had so many players playing on the Asian Tour. We've had so many guys winning on the PGA TOUR, guys like -- even the guy who won last week, Michael Kim. Before that, Kevin Na, they both are Korean-Americans. Just seeing so many more guys from Asia coming from performing on the world stage. I think it's great for the Asian Tour and just for India as well. We've had so many players play the British Open before. We had two guys playing this week.

On a whole, I think it's great for the Asian Tour, and just shows what we have back home in Asia.

Q. You could be back here next year if you stay in the top 30 for Race to Dubai. You could have this as a birthday every year.
SHUBHANKAR SHARMA: That will be fantastic. I'm pretty confident I will get here next year. That will be great celebrating my birthday. I don't mind that as well.

Q. You'll have to find a new Indian restaurant.
SHUBHANKAR SHARMA: We will. Or we'll have to cook at home.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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