Frittelli happy to be playing despite positive test

There was nothing boastful, nothing off-putting. Sipping peppermint tea in the clubhouse overlooking the first tee at Club de Golf Chapultepec, home of the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, retired Col. Mohan Sharma, having taken off his ever-present straw hat, simply radiated a quiet confidence. “We believe in God; we believe in fate,â€� Mohan said as he discussed his 21-year-old son, Shubhankar. “I think he will be there by himself at the end.â€� Alas, after leading through three rounds, Sharma came back to Earth to finish T9 in Mexico. But Col. Sharma may yet be right. The time horizon for Sharma is a long one, and he may well be there by himself at the end, if by “the endâ€� you mean whenever he reaches golfing maturity. Tomorrow. Next week. Next month. Next year. Sharma, 21, will play in this week’s Valero Texas Open on a sponsor’s exemption. He is attempting to reverse a mini-slump that saw him miss the cut by two at the Masters and Houston Open, and go 0-3 at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. Still, he has continued to charm. He called his first Masters “fantasticâ€� and “invaluable,â€� praised the course as “superb,â€� and said the fans were “greatâ€� and a pleasure to play in front of. “I just have to play better than what I have been playing now,â€� Sharma said. “But I know I have it in me; I’ve been playing well this whole season. I played well on the European Tour, I had two wins, so I know that my best is in front of me. So, I just have to get there and just a few things here and there and it will be good to get to Texas.â€� METEORIC RISE  Sharma won the Joburg Open and Maybank Championship, European Tour co-sanctioned events, to take the lead in the Race to Dubai and earn his spot in the WGC-Mexico Championship. There, after taking a two-shot lead through three rounds, he found himself in the same threesome with Hall of Famer Phil Mickelson on Sunday, when the occasion finally seemed to catch up with him as he shot 74. But all was not lost. He got to meet Phil Mickelson! (More on that later.) And within days, Sharma had been given a special invitation to the Masters Tournament. A few days after that, Sharma took a share of the lead into the final round of the Hero Indian Open at his home course, DLF Golf & Country Club on the outskirts of New Delhi, only to shoot 75 and finish T7. Again, there was a silver lining: his world ranking was now up to 66th, getting him into the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. Sharma was rising, which amplified the question many were asking in Mexico: Who is he? The short answer to that question is Sharma is a player with so much upside that PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan, in announcing the appointment of 2019 Presidents Cup Captains Tiger Woods and Ernie Els, mentioned him as a potential International Team member. Arjun Atwal, the first Indian to win on TOUR at the 2010 Wyndham Championship, calls Sharma “an older soulâ€� whose precision game recalls Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker. “He’s going to surprise a lot of people,â€� Atwal said. Anirban Lahiri, who accounted for one of the rare highlights for the International Presidents Cup team at Liberty National last fall, echoed Atwal’s “older soulâ€� assessment of Sharma. “The differentiating factor between him and other 21-year-olds,â€� Lahiri said, “is how he approaches tournaments and his mental ability to focus and separate himself from the noise.â€� Not that he’s completely impervious. Asked about Latin America at Chapultepec, Sharma praised Mexico and added, “It’s obviously a little distracting with so many good-looking girls walking.â€� He admitted to gawking at Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth on the driving range, and trying to act normal around the TOUR stars when he encountered them in the hotel gym. “Some of them say hi to me,â€� Sharma said, “which is very nice.â€� If you weren’t charmed by Sharma in Mexico, you might want to see your cardiologist. He was playing in his first WGC and his first PGA TOUR event, and admitted it all felt surreal, like he was watching it all play out on TV in the wee hours of the morning back in India. Justin Thomas entered the final round just four back. Big-hitting Johnson was three behind. Then there was Mickelson. Sharma and his caddie, Gurbaaz Mann, nervously approached the popular lefthander on the Chapultepec practice green prior to the third round, hoping to introduce themselves, but Mickelson thought they were members of the media. “Not right now,â€� Mickelson said. “After the round.â€� Sharma laughed as he related the mix-up, because why would Mickelson, who realized his mistake and apologized, think any differently? The kid came to Chapultepec ranked 75th in the world and still dizzy from his rapid ascent after two European Tour co-sanctioned victories. “In the past four months,â€� he said, “my life has totally changed.â€� His arrival in Mexico, economy class from Doha, Qatar, was about as under-the-radar as it gets. But his “arrivalâ€� on the world stage feels indelible for a few reasons. India has over a billion people; what might Sharma mean to them? What might he mean, competitively speaking, to Thomas, Jordan Spieth and the rest of them? Sharma’s ultimate goal is to play the PGA TOUR, and Mexico felt not like a cameo but the curtain opening to a potentially long-running hit show. You could hardly fault him for withering on the greens Sunday, unnerved by the crowds or the presence of eventual winner Mickelson, or both. Still, Sharma hung around to shake every hand, sign every autograph. When the Official World Golf Ranking was released hours later, he would vault from 75th to 66th, and within hours of that he would be granted a special exemption into the Masters to become the fourth Indian to tee it up at Augusta, after Jeev Milkha Singh, Atwal and Lahiri. EXTRAORDINARY FAMILY Anirban Lahiri, who was the highest-ranking Indian golfer until Sharma came along, has known the young phenom since they were kids. Lahiri’s father served in the Indian Army with Col. Mohan Sharma, and their relationship deepened when Dr. Tushar Lahiri, a gynecologist, helped deliver Shubhankar’s sister, Vandini. Back then, Anirban was the country’s top-ranked junior and Shubhankar was just turning 7. The two Army dads got to talking, with the doctor recommending to the Colonel that the latter take up golf with his boy. Col. Mohan Sharma listened well. His confidence in his son is well-founded; this is no ordinary family. Vandini is a published fiction and non-fiction writer at 16, and she covered the Masters for Sports Betting News. Shubhankar was the same age when he left school to turn pro, but he is currently studying political science online; the Colonel says his son is on pace to get his undergraduate degree this summer. Dr. Neena Sharma, Shubhankar’s mother, has a PhD in yoga and alternative healing. When Shubhankar Sharma speaks of golf’s appeal, he talks about the mental side. “The best part is you’re always playing against the course and against yourself,â€� he said in Mexico. Before his run-in with Mickelson, his greatest mental test came at the 2017 Hero Indian Open. About 10 days before the tournament, Sharma came down with a fever that kept him bedridden and unable to practice. He tried to play in the pro-am but withdrew on the third hole and went back to bed. The next day, without a warm-up, he gutted out an even-par 72. “He was in bad shape,â€� said Jeev Milkha Singh, one of his playing partners that day. “He was coughing, taking his medication, his fluids, but his main goal was still to play well.â€� Sharma made the cut the next day, only to run out of gas on the weekend and finish T40. “I’ll never forget that first round,â€� the Colonel said with a smile. “Level par.â€� The start of this season has brought more unforgettable moments. Sharma’s two quick victories to take pole position on the European Tour; meeting and playing against Mickelson at Chapultepec; playing in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, the Houston Open and the Masters. Now he heads to Texas again for the Valero at the AT&T Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio. He’s living his TOUR dream in the flesh, in the sun, not on TV in the dark of night. “I couldn’t have asked for a better start,â€� Sharma said of his first two rounds in Mexico. He could have been talking about his career.

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CROMWELL, Conn. – When you’re pretty much isolated in the zone – and we suspect that hitting all 14 fairways, 16 of 18 greens, and running your bogey-free streak to 50 holes, as Brendon Todd did in his 9-under 61 today at the Travelers Championship, constitutes being “in the zone” – then you don’t have time for history lessons. But, oh, how his playing competitors could have regaled him. “Let me tell you about 2014,” Kevin Streelman might have said. “Trailed by four to start the final round, birdied each of my last seven holes, shot 64, and won.” “Impressive,” Marc Leishman would have been able to counter with. “But my effort two years earlier wasn’t bad, mate. Left here Saturday in a tie for 20th, six back, shot bogey-free 62 Sunday, and won.” RELATED: Leaderboard | Tee times | Morikawa’s made cut streak comes to an end True, in Saturday morning’s solitude, with even the leaders on the course to help beat turbulent afternoon weather, it wasn’t the time to stroll down memory lane. Besides, Streelman was enjoying the ball-striking clinic put on by his competitor. “He putted just perfectly out there,” said Streelman, after watching Todd use just 25 putts to make birdies on half his holes. “Every putt inside of 15, 20 feet looks like it’s going to go in, and today most of them did go in. He’s always been an incredible putter. He’s swinging it great, and when he’s putting well, he’s tough to beat.” Properly stated and saturated in diplomacy, but here at TPC River Highlands, virtually every competitor knows that there has never been anything resembling a “safe lead,” that your rear-view mirror is always clogged with tailgaters, so you best keep your foot on the pedal. Streelman and Leishman are just two of 13 winners since 2000 who have come from behind on Sunday to win. For proof to the way you can speedboat here, consider that as brilliantly as Todd played – and he pushed to 18-under 192 to get into a two-shot lead – he only matched the low round of the day. A few groups earlier, the esteemed Dustin Johnson conceded his morning “was a pretty easy 61.” Hitting 12 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens put Johnson in the passing lane, big time; five behind 36-hole leader Phil Mickelson, Johnson roared into second place, at 16-under 194. Not that it’s a two-man race. Not with this tournament’s history. That means Streelman, who shot 63 and is alone in third, is very much alive, three behind Todd, and so, too, is Mackenzie Hughes (68), who is four back. Those who are at five back – Bryson DeChambeau (65) and Kevin Na (65) – would even have to be considered in the hunt, given the fourth-round history at the Travelers. But Rory McIlroy (69 – 200, T-18, and eight back) puts up the stop sign. “Too far back and too many people,” said the world No. 1 after a day in which he could have used a lot of the ball-striking prowess displayed by Todd and Johnson. (McIlroy hit just eight fairways and 11 greens.) Even after you accept the deep history of comebacks here and pay due respect to those within five of the lead, it’s worth admiring the contrast in the final pairing, for it provides more proof that golf is flavorful. Todd, who will turn 35 next month, and Johnson, who turned 36 last Monday, hail from the same part of the country (Todd from Georgia, Johnson from South Carolina) and turned pro in 2007. But you might stop with the similarities there, given the routes they’ve been on. By the time Todd won his first PGA TOUR tournament, in 2014, Johnson owned eight victories and was a megastar. Seemingly oblivious to stress, Johnson can laugh at that perception and tell you he feels it “a lot more than you think, (but) I try not to show it.” What he can’t hide is a brilliant resume (20 PGA TOUR wins, a U.S. Open title, stints at No. 1 in the world) and a saunter that if you could bottle it and sell it would bring you millions. Whereas he appears incapable of playing poorly, Todd presents a different side of the equation and that makes him . . . well, someone to be admired, a guy overflowing with humanness. Take those dark years, for instance, 2016-19, a period during which Todd made 12 cuts in 55 starts. Talk about an easy out, a simple reason to quit. Yet Todd didn’t. If you look of perseverance and don’t see his picture, you’ve got an inferior dictionary and when he stands next to Johnson on the first tee Sunday afternoon, only one of them can say they’ve won a tournament in this 2019-20 season, disjointed season. That would be Todd, who prevailed back-to-back last fall, at the Bermuda Championship and Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico. Crazy, that pairing. The continuation of a vintage feel-good story and continuation of a career that has been consistently pure. Admire the storyline, but then take a deep breath and study your history of the Travelers Championship. Many other competitors have a chance Sunday.

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