Tough start for Sharma at Dunhill Links

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St Andrews (Scotland), Oct 3 (PTI) Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma carded four birdies in his first five holes, but faded away after that as he managed only two pars and two bogeys for a 4-under 68 that placed him T-76 after the first round at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Sharma birdied the first and then had three more from the third to the fifth. Thereafter, he cooled off with a bogey on the seventh. He did birdie again on the ninth and the 10th, but once again dropped a shot on the 12th and parred the remaining six holes at the Kingsbarns course.

His next two rounds will be at the St Andrews and Carnoustie.

Sharma will need a low score to end his run of 16 missed cuts since Hero Indian open in March this year. Overall, he has missed 20 cuts in 24 starts in 2025.

Matthew Jordan showed off his links prowess as he fired a 63 at The Old Course, St Andrews to share the lead with Darius van Driel and Ryan Brehm after the first round.

Jordan produced a brilliant burst of scoring on the front nine as he went birdie-birdie-eagle-eagle from the third. The Englishman made four more birdies in the first seven holes after the turn to hit the front on his own but dropped a shot on the 17th to fall back into a share of the lead on nine under par.

The 29-year-old almost finished with a hole-out eagle on the 18th, which would have seen him tie the course record, but his approach hit the flag and landed 22 feet from the cup, leaving him to settle for a closing par.

American Brehm, ranked 1,407th in the world, shone brightly at Kingsbarns Golf Links as he made an eagle and seven birdies in a flawless 63.

Dutchman Van Driel also signed for a nine under par round of 63 at Kingsbarns as, after starting his round at the tenth, he recorded seven birdies in a row from the 15th hole to the third, adding to further gains on the 13th and ninth.

The trio led by one shot ahead of two-time Major Champion Dustin Johnson and Danes Jacob Skov Olesen and Jeff Winther on eight under.

Johnson and Olesen made the most of favourable conditions at the difficult Carnoustie Golf Links on day one, giving themselves the perfect platform for the rest of the week.

Jack Senior and Dery Desmond led the team competition by three on 17 under par after a productive first day at The Old Course. PTI Corr PDS PDS PDS