Shubhankar Sharma embraces the future in Masters debut

21-year-old from India knows his success this week and beyond can spur on golf in his home nation

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Shubhankar Sharma will tee off in his first Masters on Thursday. Two wins in co-sanctioned European and Asian tour events since December and a top-10 at the WGC-Mexico Championship earned him an invitation. [MICHAEL HOLAHAN/THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE]

Shubhankar Sharma is the fourth citizen of India to play in the Masters Tournament. But at only age 21, the man making his major debut this week knows he could be the future of the sport in a country of more than 1.3 billion people.

Pressure? Not a bit.

“Personally I don’t feel any burden,” he said during his Tuesday interview session at Augusta National Golf Club. “I’m actually very happy that I’m getting a lot of attention. A lot of people back home are following me, and if I can get a good finish this weekend, maybe even win a green jacket, it will be great for the game.”

Sharma won twice in co-sanctioned European and Asian tour events between December and February, then posted another top-10 at the WGC-Mexico Championship. The surge in play resulted in a special invitation to the Masters by Sunday night.

“It was very funny, the next day I was joking with my friends that there was — I think that after the press conference there was a post on the Masters website that Shubhankar Sharma accepts the invitation to play in the Masters,” he said.

PHOTOS: Tuesday's practice round at Augusta National

“And I was like, ‘There’s no question about it. Why wouldn’t I accept it?’ Somebody gets an invite to the Masters, I will definitely accept that.”

Sharma’s history with golf is relatively short; the 2007 Masters with Zach Johnson was the first he watched with a real understanding of what was going on. He turned professional in 2013 and didn’t receive full status on the European Tour until his December victory in Johannesburg.

He’s used to moving quickly to achieve his goals, but the checklist for this week is long.

The vegetarian hasn’t taken in all of the delights Augusta and the Masters has to offer, no pimento cheese or egg salad sandwiches just yet. He hopes to calm his nerves and introduce himself to Tiger Woods sometime soon — “With Tiger, I think everyone can be like a fanboy.”

There is one thing he’s already accomplished, though.

“I drove through the Magnolia Lane today,” he said with a nod, “and every time you get there you get goose bumps.”