Nihal Cheema shares second place at US Kids Golf World C’ships

By Rahul Banerji 

Led by Nihal Cheema in the Boys Under 6, three Indians were in the top five after day one of the US Kids World Championships for Boys and Girls aged six to 12 on Friday.

While Chandigarh’s Nihal was tied for second place, Kabir Goyal (even par 36) was T4 in the Boys 8 category and Ojaswini Saraswat (even par 72) was T5 in the Girls 10 section at Pinehurst.

The talented Nihal shot a 2-under 34 at the at the Midland Country Club with an eagle and one birdie against one dropped shot. He sits a shot behind Bradley Ferguson of the US.

Competition in the Boys U-8 and Girls U-9 sections is over nine holes where the layouts are age-specific in the only world event of its kind.

Another Indian going well at Pinehurst was Kabir Goyal, whose nine-hole score of level par 36 at Mid Pines (Black) placed him tied for fourth while compatriot Sahib Aujla (43) was T50.

Goyal, one of the nine players in fourth place was one shot behind a three-way tie for the lead.

Good run

Another fine performer from the Indian squad was Ojaswini Saraswat, a regular medallist at international events.

The Mohali girl shot a level par 72 in the Girls 10 and was tied fifth but five shots behind the leader, Iris Lee of the US at Southern Pines Golf Club.

In the Girls 11, Naina Kapoor with a 9-over 81 at Pinehurst 6 was T44 and in the Girls 12 at Pinehurst 5, Shambhavi Chaturvedi and Ananyaa Sood were tied 20^th on 2-over 74.

Vedika Bhansali opened her nine-hole round with a level par 36 and was in tied ninth place in the Girls 7 and under, while Ahana Shah shot a 2-over 38 and was tied 13^th.

In the Boys 10, Adit Veeramachaneni, a multiple winner at home, opened with a disappointing 6-over 78 at the Legacy Golf Links, while Chaitanya Pandey, another successful youngster was T32 with a 2-over 74 in the Boys 11 at Talamore Golf Club.

Last week Mahreen Bhatia (2^nd in the Girls 14), Kartik Singh (T3 Boys 13), and Lavanya Gupta (T3 Girls 15-18) scored podium finishes at the World Teen Championships for Boys and Girls at Pinehurst.

The US Kids Golf World Championship is recognised as a ranked event for the Junior Golf Scoreboard and the American Junior Golf Association besides allowing the players to gain World Amateur Golf Ranking points. 

Also read: Mahreen finishes second, Kartik and Lavanya third at World Teens