LITTLE MASTER JUNIOR GOLF TOUR
Kanav, Ananya End Season on a High
Kanav Chauhan and Ananya Chand were adjudged Player of the Year in the boys and girls categories respectively after the completion of the Little Master Junior Golf Tour’s 9-Hole Series and Par-3 series.
While Kanav won both the 9-Hole Summer and Winter series in the boys 7-8 age group, Ananya excelled in the girls 9-10 section in the 9-Hole Summer series. Both also hit birdies in the Summer Series. The Par-3 Series was played at the Mini Course at Jaypee Greater Noida and the 9-hole Series was staged at Tarudhan Valley Golf Resort (Manesar), Jaypee Wishtown (Greater Noida) and Unitech (Noida).
Each of the Winter and Summer Series had 5 events so all in all the players played 10 rounds each for the Par 3 and 9-Hole games.
The idea behind the 9-Hole series is to encourage new golfers to get on the course, and also teach new players and parents rules and etiquette which will help them in playing better golf and competing at a higher level. The Par 3 series is to improve the short game of new as well as advanced players.
Each event had 25-30 participants every month. 3 Hole-in-Ones and many birdies were witnessed over the course of the Winter and Summer Series.
Shubham Recovers From Multiple Stress Fractures
Once regarded as a golf prodigy, Shubham Jaglan was missing from the golf scene since early summer last year. The 12-year-old withdrew after the second round of IMG Academy Junior World Championship held from July 11 to 14 at Morgan Run Resort & Club in Califiornia, USA, after suffering multiple stress fractures in his back.
He was one-under after two days when immense pain in his back forced him to pull out of the prestigious tournament, which saw participation from 1,200 kids across 54 countries.
Training hard and emphasis on hitting longer drives than kids his age resulted in L-4 & L-5 bones in his vertebrae getting fractured. The good news is that Shubham has recovered from the injury and has started training again at Delhi Golf Club.
“Shubham is okay now. Thankfully his pain has subsided and he can drive the ball comfortably. We consulted Dr. Atul Agarwal and Dr. Naveen Talwar in India and renowned orthopaedic surgeon D. Das in San Diego, US. I would like to thank The Golf Foundation for their support as well as Shubham’s coach Nonita Lall Qureshi and mentor Amit Luthra for their guidance,” Shubham’s father Jagpal Jaglan told Golf Digest.
The Haryana golfer will now concentrate on playing Zonal tournaments on the Indian Golf Union (IGU) circuit besides preparing for the All India Amateur.
Triple Treat For Rishika
Bengaluru girl Rishika Muralidhar completed a hat-trick when she won the US Kids World Golf Championship at the Village Course, Tanjong Puteri, in the 11-year age category by a three-stroke margin beating Sasikarn Luangnitikul from Thailand. More than 250 kids from 22 countries participated in the prestigious event.
Rishika had won in 9-year category by a massive 10 strokes in 2015 before emerging victorious in the 10-year section on the third playoff hole in 2016.
The 11-year-old is performing well on the Indian Golf Union (IGU) circuit Category ‘C’. She won 5 out of 7 tournaments at the national level and scripted 4 consecutive wins at Delhi, Noida, Pune and Ahmedabad to climb to the second spot on the ‘C’ category Order of Merit.
(Read more in the January issue of Golf Digest India. Download here.)