7-year-old Nihaal Cheema (first from Left) celebrates his win
India has been exceptionally well represented in recent years at the U.S. Kids European Championship held annually at Longniddry Golf Club, Scotland and this was true for the recent 2024 edition as well.
Starting with the youngest age group, 7-year-old Nihaal Cheema from Chandigarh triumphed in the Category 7 & Under, carding rounds of 35-35-37 to secure a one-shot victory with a score of 1-under 107.
In the Boys age 10 category, Sohraab Talwar from Mohali finished fifth while Adit Veeramachaneni from Bangalore placed eighth in the same category.
In the Boys age 14 category, Bangalore’s Ishnidh Virdi shot 71-74-77 to finish eighth at 6-over 222, while Aditya Joseph Kamath finished 14th.
In the Boys age 15-18 category, Manyaveer Bhadoo from Chandigarh won with rounds of 73-77-77, ending at 11-over 227.
In the Girls 8 & Under category, Ahana Shah from Mumbai finished sixth while in the Girls age 11 category, Ojaswini Saraswat from Mohali secured a runner-up finish with rounds of 72-70-68, ending at 6-under 210.
Congratulations and best wishes to Jaipur’s young golfer Ojaswini Saraswat for her remarkable performance, securing the runner-up position at the prestigious US Kids Golf European Championship. Wishing you a bright future ahead! pic.twitter.com/SYz181HKfw
— Col Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) June 1, 2024
In the Girls age 12 category, Naina Kapoor from Gurgaon finished fourth, carding rounds of 73-73-72 for a total of 2-over 218.
Naina Kapoor
The Girls age 13 category saw Ananya Sood from New Delhi claim victory with rounds of 73-73-71, winning by a six-shot margin at 1-over 217. Guntas Kaur Sandhu from Chandigarh finished third with rounds of 74-74-81, totaling 13-over 229.
In the Girls age 14 category, Kriti Parekh from Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, finished third with rounds of 80-84-76, totaling 24-over 240.
The tournament featured 248 junior golfers competing across 17 different age categories for boys and girls, with nine participants representing India.
The Van Horn Cup
Following the three-day championship, qualifying boys and girls from each age group from 11 to 14 years old are selected to play in the Van Horn Cup, a one-day best ball tournament held at the legendary North Berwick Golf Club outside Edinburgh, Scotland.
Ojaswini Saraswat, Naina Kapoor, Ananyaa Sood, Guntas Kaur Sandhu and Kriti Parekh were selected at the Van Horn Cup in their respective age categories.
Ananyaa Sood won her match .
Results –
Girls 11
Stella Walters (Great Britain) & Mia Heuberger (Switzerland) defeated Riviera Lindholm (Canada) & Ojaswini Saraswat (India)
Girls 12
Keelee Nogawa (United States) & Shania Valentina Breinhölder (Czech Republic) defeated Sabrina Wong (Hong Kong) & Naina Kapoor (India)
Girls 13
Ananyaa Sood (India) & Lucie Zhao(France) defeated Guntas Kaur Sandhu (India) & Ryley Regan (United States)
Girls 14
Hazel Peters (United States) & Sarah Marquardt (United States) defeated Adrianna Prewa Sim (Malaysia) & Kriti Parekh (India) .
US Kids have set up a well managed series of Junior tournaments in India and the top performers are awarded invitations to the international events of US Kids held in Scotland, USA and elsewhere.
Photo – Nihaal Cheema