Harpal Singh Bedi
New Delhi, 31 May: Mahreen Bhatia shared the lead in Girls 13-14 category as Indian golfers got off to a great start at the US Kids Golf European Championships with five others in the top-5 after the first day of the three-day competition being held on five famous golf courses in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The five golf clubs being in use this week are Longniddry , Musselburgh , Craigielaw , Glen and the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club.
Mahreen Bhatia, who had an outstanding domestic season, carried on the good work by sharing the lead in the Girls 13-14 at Royal Musselburgh golf club.
The Indian shot 3-under 69, which included a stunning five-birdie run from third to the seventh. She added further birdies on 14h and 18th and dropped shots on 15th and 17th. The young Gurgaon golfer shared the lead with Estonian golfer, Iiris Matas, who also had a 69.
Among the other top Indian performers on the first day was Chandigarh’s Harjai Milkha Singh (Boys 13). He shot even par 72 with four birdies and four bogeys and was tied in third place. He was one shot behind co-leaders, Giancarlo Aguirre of Peru, and Jack McKenna of Ireland, who shot 1-under 71 each.
In the same Boys 13 section, Gurgaon’s Vihaan Jain was T-5 with a card of 1-over 73 and Noida’s Arshvant Srivastava was T-8 with 75 as the competition among the 42 players was tight.
In Boys 10 category, Delhi golfer Vidit Aggarwal was T-3 with 75 (+3) and he was just one shot behind leaders, Freddie Buck of US, and Leo Taylor of UK .
In Boys 9 category, Bangalore youngster, Adit Veeramachaneni, who had a phenomenal showing on the home circuit, was sole fourth with an even par 72 . He was two shots behind the leader, Marcus Karim of UK, who had a 2-under 70.
Nihal Cheema, the youngest in the Indian squad, was T-5 in the Boys 7 with a round of even par 36 over nine holes.
Ananyaa Sood (77) was T-6 in Girls 12 at Glen Golf Club, while Naina Kapoor (81) was T-8 in Girls 11.
A total of 16 Indian golfers are battling it out over five famous Scottish golf courses. India has representatives in 10 different age groups – seven among boys and three in girls.
Following the three-day championship qualifying boys and girls from each age group 12-years-old and older will be selected to play in the European Van Horn Cup, a one-day best ball tournament at Craigielaw Golf Club.
The players for the European Van Horn Cup will be selected based on score after 36 holes (Round 2). The top four in each age group (Ages 12 and up) will be selected. In the past Arshvant Srivastava is among the Indians who has qualified for the Van Horn Cup.