Arjun Bhati tops Kid World Golf event in Malaysia

By Rahul Banerji

Arjun Bhati of Greater Noida made it a successful repeat visit to the Kids Golf World Championship, Malaysia, winning the boys 13-14 age group competition in Johor on Saturday,

Bhati, who also won the title at the Johor event two years ago, finished on six over par 222 in the 54-hole strokeplay format ahead of Ajksel Moe and Andy Dang Quang Ahn.

The Kids Golf World Championship is presented by US Kids Golf and the competition was held for the seventh consecutive year in Malaysia is the international version of the US Kids Golf tournament.

Cool finish

The Jaypee Academy trainee topped the boys Group G event at the par-72 Tanjong Puteri Golf Resort inJohor with rounds of 76, 74 and level par 72 to finish three ahead of Moe and four better than Ahn.

Arjun trailed on first day before making up ground over final two days, In a Facebook post from Kuala Lumpur International Airport after his win, Arjun said it was a proud moment for him to represent and win for the country.

Arjun grabbed attention in 2016 when he topped the Kids Golf World Championship ahead of South Africa’s Methu Denish.

Olympic dream

Arjun, now 14, has his eyes set on playing in the Olympics someday and is hugely inspired by Shubhankar Sharma. “I would really love to win gold for India in the Olympics. That’s my dream,” he has said in the past.

Of the other Indians in his section of the competition, Aayan Gupta was seventh and  Krishnav Chopra eighth.

In the boys Group H 15 to 18 years event, Vibhu Tyagi finished second on 15 over par 231, three behind Masiachi Otake. Jot Prakash Singh was fourth, while in the girls 13-14 years section, Natasha Ashini Jaichandra was second, Harbin Kaur Jawanda third and Sifat Sayal fourth.

In the girls 15-17 years competition, Riya Yadav finished fourth.

The championship is an opportunity for boys and girls between age 5 and 18 to play in a world competition. Malaysia championed the race among other Asian nation including Japan, Thailand and Australia to hist the Kids Golf World Championship.

The world championship in the USA and Europe has gained success in term of participation, media attention and in enhancing the profile of golf among children, organisers said on the event’s website.

Chouhan grabs third round lead

In Jamshedpur, Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow carded a six under 65 in round three of the Rs  1 crore 17^th Tata Open that included two eagles to grab the lead at 18-under-195 on the par-71 Golmuri Golf Course on Saturday.

Early front-runner Rashid Khan of Delhi dropped to second place at 17-under-196 with a second straight 67 in round three.

The day’s best effort came from Delhi’s Honey Baisoya, a double winner on the PGTI in 2018, who had a bogey-free card of seven-under-64 that saw him climb to tied fourth at 13-under-200.

Chouhan (63-67-65), who began the day one shot behind Khan (62-67-67), had a poor start with missed short putts to pick up twp bogeys.

However, Om Prakash, who won the last of his four PGTI titles at the 13^th Tata Open in 2014, began to turn things around with his eagle on the par-5 ninth where he knocked in a three-footer.

He then made a charge with birdies on the next two holes and his second eagle of the day where he drove the green and converted from eight feet.

Also read: Anushka, Chaitanya are youngest winners at US Kids Golf India Tour opener