Shubhankar Sharma hoping to carry on 'hero' Jeev Milkha Singh's legacy at the Scottish Open

India’s rising star Shubhankar Sharma will not be short of motivation when he tees up for the Scottish Open, one of the premier Rolex Series events on the European Tour, this week at the Gullane Golf Club.

As the 21-year-old Chandigarh pro walked up to the first tee for his practice round on Tuesday, which he played alongside Japanese superstar Hideki Matsuyama, Sharma passed through the tournament Hall of Fame – posters of the past champions of the tournament.

One of those life-size posters gave him goosebumps – that of Jeev Milkha Singh, the champion in 2012 when the event was played at Castle Stuart.

Jeev has been a hero of Sharma’s, and the Scottish Open win was one of many that he watched growing up. It was a terrific performance that week from his legendary city-mate as Jeev overcame a wrist injury sustained during the second round and held on to win his fourth European Tour title in gritty fashion.

“Jeev sir has been an inspiration, not only to me but to so many kids and players back home in India. Just seeing his picture next to the first tee, it gave me such a feeling of pride that an Indian has won here before,” Sharma, the winner of the Joburg and Malaysian Opens on the European Tour this season, told Firstpost.

“So many people know him and ask about him over here in Scotland. He has been an absolute legend on the European Tour and if I can win here, or if any other Indian wins here, it would be absolutely fantastic. It will be like carrying on his legacy,” Sharma added.

Sharma, now ranked 85th in the world and 15th on the European Tour Order of Merit, missed the cut last week in Ireland in what was his first experience of a links golf course. But he spent the weekend in Ballyliffin and is confident of doing well here in Gullane.

“I am feeling good. Last week, at the Irish Open, was my first taste of links courses. This is the second week of links courses for me and I am very excited. I have seen this tournament on TV so many times, including the win of Jeev sir. I am really happy to be a part of it finally,” said Sharma.

“I did not play that well at the Irish Open, but it was a great learning experience and I really enjoyed playing links golf.

“The one thing I learned is that links golf is all about having more shots in your bag. You just can’t play the golf courses in one way, there are 10 different ways of playing them – you can lay up on a few holes on one day, and you can go for the green on other days. There are so many different options here, which makes it all so exciting.

“It’s all about risk and reward and you’ve got to know which part of your game suits you better on a golf course. One key thing is keeping the ball in play, and that was something that I did not do well enough last week. But I have worked on it after that and I am hopeful that this week would be much better.”

As important the Scottish Open is for Sharma, he just can’t wait for the week after – when he makes his dream debut at the Open Championship in Carnoustie.

Sharma qualified for the third major of the season, and the oldest golf tournament in the world, by winning the Joburg Open late last year.

Competing for the Claret Jug is something he has dreamt of ever since he became serious about golf as an eight-year-old and is hoping the two weeks of preparation in Ireland and Scotland will help him do well.

“The Open is my favourite major. I think it was the first golf tournament that I watched live on television all four days and the one I have always dreamt of winning,” said Sharma, who also played the Masters and the US Open earlier this year and is almost certain of qualifying for the PGA Championship.

“It’s a great preparation for the Open Championship. That is the reason why so many players from the PGA Tour come and play these two weeks in Ireland and Scotland.

“Even though the setup of the golf course is not as tough as the Open, it just prepares you for links golf, for the hard fairways, the pot bunkers, and the mounds. This really is a great way to get ready for Carnoustie.”

Sharma is one of two Indians in the field this week – the other being Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia. The tournament, which starts Thursday, offers a total prize purse of seven million pounds.