Junior Golf: January 2019

Another Win For Mighty Pranavi

15-year-old Pranavi S. Urs continued her winning form, charging to a 13-stroke win over Delhi native Hitaashee Bakshi at the All India Junior (Boys and Girls) Golf Championship in the Girls Category A division at Eagleton Golf Resort, Bengaluru. She also won the Girls Combined category, edging Anika Varma by a shot.

Mysuru-based Pranavi is coached by Steven Guiliano, who has worked with a lot of young Indian golfers including Aditi Ashok.
Talking to Golf Digest India about her game he said, “I’ve been working on her game from last year and she has really evolved as a player. Not touched too heavily on the technique, but guided her mainly on understanding her ball flight, worked quite hard on putting and short game [a lot of pitching], to give her a better understanding of her own self.” A key factor in developing any strong player.

Pranavi was one of two amateurs to win on the domestic professional tour last year when she triumphed in the ninth leg of Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour in July.

Khusi Soaks In Joy Of Winning

After finishing second in the Eastern India Ladies and Junior Girls (held at Golmuri Golf Club, Jamshedpur) early last month, all that was left for 14-year-old Khushi Hooda to end the year on a high was a win, which she duly did—defeating 16-year-old Jahanvi Bakshi at the 102nd All India Ladies Amateur Golf Championship at The Tollygunge Club, Kolkata.

A delighted Khushi said, “The only goal which I set before every tournament is that I have to win. It was a very tough competition for me, and Jahanvi has been playing so well; so it feels like an achievement!”

An achievement indeed because Jahanvi is ranked third on the IGU’s Merit List (Girls A category).

Delhi Youngster Finishes Third

12-year-old Sukhman Singh finished third at the 13th AmBank SportExcel International Junior Golf Championship 2018. Held at Glenmarie Golf & Country Club in Selangor, Malaysia during the first week of December, the Delhi lad braved rainy conditions to post twin rounds of 75 and finished just three strokes shy of eventual winner Anson Yeo Boon Xiang of Malaysia. Thailand’s Pe Nontarux finished second.

A resident of Noida, Singh’s home course is Noida Golf Club and he is coached by Dharmender Choudhary.

Talented Teen Headed To Boston

Ananya Barthakur, a science student at Modern School Vasant Vihar, has earned a golf scholarship at Boston College. The Delhi resident will be part of the team and play collegiate golf whilst pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science. Ananya is a WAGR ranked player and was part of the IGU National Squad last year. She also played AJGA, USGA and HJGT tournaments in the US last summer.

Read more in our January 2019 issue.