U.S. Kids Junior remains a vital testing ground for rising junior golfers from India
A total of 14 Indian juniors teed it up at the prestigious annual U.S. Kids Golf World Championship held at Pinehurst Village in North Carolina, competing across various age divisions from 8 to 12 years. Over the years, this event has become the first cut of international exposure for aspiring Indian kids as they participate in perhaps the largest gathering of junior golfers in the world.
The Indian boys and girls hailed from diverse cities like Bangalore, Noida, Chandigarh, and Jaipur—highlighting how Indian junior golf is expanding in popularity and geography. Events like this motivate young golfers and their families to pursue the sport seriously, helping to deepen the grassroots foundation of Indian golf.
Young Vedika Bhansali of Bangalore finished at 10-under 98 to clinch the Girls 9 and Under category by one shot over Japan’s Emi Minami. Last year, Vedika had placed fourth in the same category.
In the Girls 11 division, fellow Bangalorean Aida Thimmaiah fired a superb final-round 66—the lowest of the day—to claim a third-place finish at 7-under. The division was won by Bella Simoes of the U.S. at 21-under, while Ananya Venkataraghavan, now based in the U.S., took second at 10-under.
Among boys, Nihal Cheema of Chandigarh tied for fourth in Boys 8 (38-39-35), while Kabir Goyal of Noida placed eighth in Boys 10 with rounds of 72-70-68, coached by former Asian Games medallist Rahul Bajaj.
| Category | Name | Finish | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boys 8 | Nihal Cheema (Chandigarh) | T4 | 38-39-35 |
| Boys 10 | Kabir Goyal (Noida) | 8th | 72-70-68 |
| Boys 11 | Sohraab Singh Talwar (Mohali) | T42 | 76-74-75 |
| Boys 12 | Adit Veeramachaneni (Bangalore) | T41 | 73-79-71 |
| Hridaan Saraogi (Jaipur) | T89 | 79-79-72 | |
| Siddhant Sharma (Faridabad) | T97 | 78-78-75 | |
| Girls 8 | Pramati Veera (Bangalore) | T21 | 37-36-41 |
| Naaysha S. Sinha (Noida) | T25 | 38-39-39 | |
| Girls 9 | Vedika Bhansali (Bangalore) | 1st | 33-33-32 |
| Ahana Shah (Mumbai) | T42 | 41-42-34 | |
| Suhani Chandra (Gurgaon) | T78 | 43-42-41 | |
| Aahana Shrivastava (Gurgaon) | T82 | 44-41-42 | |
| Girls 11 | Aida Thimmaiah (Bangalore) | 3rd | 75-68-66 |
| Girls 12 | Ojaswini Saraswat (Mohali) | T18 | 70-68-76 |