Shubhankar Sharma

Was playing only his tenth DP World Tour event when he shot a second-round 61 and went on to capture the co-sanctioned Joburg Open by three strokes in December 2017.

As part of The Open Qualifying Series, his success guaranteed his Championship debut at Carnoustie 2018 and he celebrated his 22nd birthday in Open week. 

The victory in South Africa was followed by another at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia – that was achieved with a closing 62 – to send him racing into the world’s top 100 only three months after he was not even in the leading 500.

It also put him out in front on Europe’s Race to Dubai money list and brought a World Golf Championships debut in Mexico in March, where he really put himself on the global map by leading after the second and third rounds before slipping to joint ninth.

A special invitation to the Masters came soon afterwards and he ended the season being named the first Indian winner of the European Tour’s Rookie of the Year award. 

Turned professional at 17 and in 2016 kept his Asian Tour card when a closing 62 gave him a fourth-place finish in Manila.