Avani earns India’s first ever direct Invitation to the US Women’s Amateur
16 year old Avani Prashanth, India’s top lady amateur, and 14 year old Kartik Singh both secured prestigious invitations to the Sage Valley Junior Invitational in South Carolina, USA, which sees the top 36 boys and 36 girls from around the world receive all expense paid trips to the event.
Avani registered a tied-11th finish with her rounds of 77-72-77 at 5-over 221. Kartik shot rounds of 79-72-77 for a 35th place.
This was Avani’s third time playing the tournament, where she has finished tied-6th in 2022 and 20th in 2023. For Kartik, it was his first time.
Immediately following Sage Valley, as Avani prepares to compete in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur this week, the United States Golf Association (USGA) released rare invitations to Kartik for the U.S. Junior and Men’s Amateur Championships in the summer of 2024, and to Avani for the U.S. Women’s Amateur. This marks the first time in history that Indians have been simultaneously invited to the men’s and women’s Amateur championships of the USA. Previously, Anika Varma from Noida, currently a sophomore at Oregon University, competed in the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2020.
The U.S. Junior Amateur will be held from July 22-27 at Oakland Hills in Michigan and the U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine in Minnesota.
Kartik will be the first Indian boy to play the U.S. Amateur
This will be Kartik’s 2nd appearance at the U.S. Junior Amateur after debuting last year as the youngest participant at the 2023 event.
The U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, established in 1948, is open to amateur boys under 19 with a USGA Handicap Index of 4.4 or less, featuring two days of stroke play followed by match play. Conversely, the U.S. Amateur Championship, with no age limit, requires a handicap index of 2.4 or less. It involves two days of stroke play and a knockout competition in match play format, culminating in a 36-hole final.