SOUTHPORT: Shubhankar Sharma got a taste of the tough windy and wet conditions at the Pro-Am in the Betfred British Masters, and then said he was relieved that the weather was going to be relatively better for the rest of the week.

Sharma, who has two European Tour titles, is one of the three Indians in the field this week. The other two being SSP Chawrasia, four-time winner on European Tour, and Gaganjeet  Bhullar, whose sole win on the Tour came in Fiji last year.

Chawrasia will be the first of the three to tee off early at 7.30 am alongside Darren Fichardt and Oliver Fisher, while  Bhullar goes out with Hugo Leon and Niklas Lemke and then Sharma plays with Sam Horsfield and Jason Scrivener in the afternoon.

“This course can be very tough in windy conditions like today during the Pro-Am. I am told the weather will be better next few days,” said Sharma. “I had a good outing with Anirban (Lahiri) at Zurich Classic on PGA Tour. We were 19-under and 20-under was Top-5, but then our putting did not go the way it should have and we ended T-22. I spent some time in Manchester and London and I fresh this week. We have a string of big events and then the Open.” 

Chawrasia is playing the British Masters for only the second time and he was there in Newcastle in 2017, when he finished 66th. Meanwhile, Tommy Fleetwood is relishing the prospect of teeing it up in the town he grew up in as the European Tour returns to Hillside for the first time in 37 years.

The Englishman is acting as the fifth host of the British Masters since its return to the European Tour’s International Schedule in 2015, following in the footsteps of Luke Donald, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose and Lee Westwood, and is welcoming the stars of the European Tour to his home town this week. Fleetwood, currently ranked 16th in the Official World Golf Rankings, finished tied ninth at the 2018 British Masters at Walton Heath and fourth in 2016 at The Grove.