Shubhankar makes decent start in Denmark, Hojgaard takes lead

Aarhus (Denmark), Aug 23 (PTI) Shubhankar Sharma had identical scores of 2-under 69 in his first two rounds at the Danish Golf Championship and was lying tied-fifth on Friday, though the situation will change as the second round is still in progress.

Shubhankar, who took a short break after the Paris Olympics, was tied-14th when the first round ended late on Wednesday.

He began the week with four birdies and then added two more on ninth and 12th with bogeys on the 11th and the 13th. He was still 4-under, but a double bogey on the Par-4 16th pegged him back further.

In the second round, he began on the 10th and was 3-under but then gave away four shots in three holes with two bogeys and a double bogey between the 16th and the 18th.

He was one over for the second round, before he birdied the first, seventh and eighth to finish with a second 69, and at four-under he was well-placed.

India’s other player, Om Prakash was way behind at 5-over 76 and was tied-145th. He will need a very low round to have a chance of weekend play.

Rasmus Højgaard started his Danish Golf Championship title defence in earnest, firing a six-under par 65 to lead by two strokes.

The 23-year-old made history last year as the first Danish winner of the event and he opened his bid to win a fifth DP World Tour title with five birdies and an eagle at the Lübker Golf Resort.

Currently 20th on the Race to Dubai Rankings, Højgaard has set his sights on earning a PGA Tour card and joining his twin brother Nicolai as a dual member for 2025.

Making his first appearance since The 152nd Open last month, Højgaard started his round on the 10th hole and was three-under after six. He then reached five under par after an eagle at the first, hitting a five iron to six feet to set up the eagle putt.

The Dane finished birdie, bogey, birdie to sign for a 65, two strokes clear of Jannik de Bruyn of Germany, New Zealander Sam Jones and Frenchman Frederic Lacroix, who carded four-under par rounds of 67.

Eight golfers share the fifth spot on three-under par, including 2016 Ryder Cup player Rafa Cabrera Bello, Englishman Joe Dean and Denmark’s Søren Broholt Lind.