Shubhankar Sharma is currently tied for sixth place after the fourth round of the Final Stage Qualifying School at INFINITUM. His rounds of 70, 69, 66, and 67 have placed him at 14-under par. However,
he trails the leader, Zander Lombard, by eight strokes. Two more rounds remain in this six-round final stage of the Q-School.
Lombard has taken a significant step towards securing his DP World Tour playing privileges for 2026. He jumped into a six-stroke lead on day four of the Final Stage Qualifying School.
This is the second time in his career he has achieved such a lead, with the first being in 2018. Lombard was ranked as high as 96th on the Official World Golf Rankings before undergoing ACL reconstruction surgery that sidelined him until March this year. He mentioned that his hard work during recovery is now yielding results.
Australian Connor McKinney holds second place alone at 16-under par. Meanwhile, Quentin Debove from France, Benjamin Follett-Smith from Zimbabwe, and England's Matthew Baldwin are tied for third at 15-under par. Debove delivered an impressive round-of-the-day with an 8-under 63 to join Follett-Smith and Baldwin in third place.
Sharma's season on the DP World Tour in 2025 has been challenging. He missed 17 consecutive cuts following the Hero Indian Open in March, resulting in losing his tour card. This led him back to Q School to try and regain playing privileges. Sharma has previously been ranked as high as 64th on the OWGR and has won two titles on the DP World Tour.
The South African golfer shared the overnight lead with Benjamin Follett-Smith before posting a remarkable 7-under 64 on the Lakes Course to reach a total of 22 under par for the week. This performance places him six strokes ahead of his nearest competitor.
Five players are tied for sixth place at 14 under par alongside Sharma: Canadian Aaron Cockerill, Englishman Nathan Kimsey, Dane Hamish Brown, and American Davis Bryant. A total of 60 players made it past the 72-hole cut. The top 20 players and ties after six rounds will earn DP World Tour playing privileges (Category 18) for the year 2026.
Sharma mentioned during the DP World India Championships that he struggled with equipment changes throughout this year but hopes to find a suitable combination soon. Despite these challenges, he remains optimistic about his performance this week with two more rounds to play.
