By Rahul Banerji
The dense fog over Delhi-NCR on Friday proved no hurdle for young golfers at the Classic Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon for the fifth event of the US Golf Kids India Tour 2018-19 as young Arshvant Srivastava walked away with his third title of the series in the boys Under-9 competition.
Children from Kolkata, Pune, Meerut and Mohali, among others came to take part in the fifth leg of the tournament. This time, the field included three who had flown in from London, Richmond (USA) and John Creek (USA).
After completing its run in southern India, US Golf Kids India returned to Delhi-NCR this week. Foggy and cold conditions made the conditions and the course tougher but the well-structured format of the tour made it an engaging one for the participants.
Disciplined display
However, weather conditions were hardly a factor for Arshvant, who topped the field again with a disciplined score in the back nine for his third win of the tour.
Krishnav Chopra, 14, from Delhi posted 1-over par score to top the table in the boys 13-14 while Anshul Kabthiyal also from Delhi carded a 2-over in the same category. Delhi’s Aryaman Mahant was impressive in the boys 15-18, topping the group with a score of 75.
Shlok Jain, who travelled all the way from the USA, had reason to cheer by winning the boys 12 section with a 75 score.
The girls put their best foot forward too, showing class and grit in their stroke play. With scores of 78 and 79, Ragini Navet and Sifat Sayal finished first and second among the girls 12-14 years.
Shared trophy
For her part, Rhea Kumar continued a winning streak in her category of girls 8-9 though this time, she had to share the winner’s trophy with Parnika Sharma from Noida, both posting scores of 39.
Said Rajesh Srivastava, president, U.S. Kids Golf India, “It is amazing to see the participation of young golfers from all over the country. Three kids have come all the way from the UK and US which is very motivating for us. From here on we can dream of junior golf growing in the country.”
Ranking points
The India Tour also carries ranking points, and with participation in a minimum of four events out of the eight, entrants will be able to gain qualification for the U.S. Kids World Championship, the U.S. Kids European Championships as well as U.S. Kids Teen World Championship.
Subsequent events will be held at Poona Club Golf Course and in Chandigarh before the last one at the Classic GCC.
Top five finishers in each age group receive priority status, granting them invitations to championship events including state invitationals, regional and international championships and the World Championship, held each year in Pinehurst.
Lahiri shoot 65 to climb 49 places in California
At La Quinta, California, Anirban Lahiri carded a seven-under 65 to rise from his overnight 70th place to tied-21st at the halfway mark of the Desert Classic. Lahiri, who shot 70 on the PGA West’s Nicklaus Tournament Course on the first day, is now nine-under for 36 holes.
Phil Mickelson birdied four of his last five holes on Friday to take a two-stroke lead into the weekend in his first event of the year. After a career-low 12-under 60 at the La Quinta Country Club, the 48-year-old Mickelson had a 68 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course to get to 16-under.
Curtis Luck was second after a 66 on the Nicklaus layout.
Lahiri, who missed more than a few makeable putts on the first day at the Stadium Course, had five birdies on the front nine and said later, “It felt nice to finally get a good score under your belt. I did feel the first round ought to have a been lot lower, and hopefully I can keep this momentum going.”
Mickelson, the tournament’s winner in 2002 and 2004, will play the final two rounds on the PGA West’s Stadium Course.
Also read: Arjun Bhati tops Kid World Golf event in Malaysia
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