Golf
Vedika Bhansali crowned champion at US Kids Golf World Championship
Bengaluru's Vedika dominates Girls 9 category with bogey-free brilliance; Aida Thimmaiah finishes third in Girls 11.
Vedika Bhansali delivered an outstanding performance at the US Kids Golf World Championship 2025. (Photo credit: Vedika Bhansali/Instagram)
India’s Vedika Bhansali delivered an outstanding performance to win the Girls 9 age group title at the prestigious US Kids Golf World Championship 2025 held at Pinehurst Village, North Carolina.
The Bengaluru-based youngster carded a bogey-free 4-under 32 in her final nine-hole round - her best score of the week. With consistent rounds of 33-33-32, Vedika posted a 10-under total, finishing one shot ahead of Japan’s Emi Minami and two strokes clear of USA’s Audrey Zhang.
Vedika, who had placed fourth at the same event last year, showed remarkable improvement and composure. Across the three rounds (each nine holes for her age bracket), she recorded just a single bogey, underlining her steady and controlled play throughout the tournament.
In another stellar showing from India, Aida Thimmaiah, also from Bengaluru, secured a third-place finish in the Girls 11 division. Aida’s closing round was her best, as she shot 6-under 66, bringing her three-round total to 7-under (75-68-66). The category was dominated by Bella Simoes from the USA, who finished at 21-under, while Ananya Venkataraghavan, granddaughter of former Indian cricket captain S. Venkataraghavan, took second place at 10-under, now competing under the US flag.
Several other Indian players made their mark across different age categories:
Nihal Cheema from Chandigarh, a podium finisher last year, tied for fourth in the Boys 8 division, posting rounds of 38-39-35.
Kabir Goyal from Noida finished eighth in the Boys 10 category, with a strong finish of 72-70-68.
Ojaswini Saraswat of Mohali placed T-18 in Girls 12 with rounds of 70-68-76.
Other Indian golfers' performances at Pinehurst included:
Boys 11: Sohraab Singh Talwar (Mohali) – T-42 (76-74-75)
Boys 12: Adit Veeramachaneni (Bangalore) – T-41 (73-79-71), Hridaan Saraogi (Jaipur) – T-89 (79-79-72), Siddhant Sharma (Faridabad) – T-97 (78-78-75)
Girls 8: Pramati Veera (Bangalore) – T-21 (37-36-41), Naaysha S Sinha (Noida) – T-25 (38-39-39)
Girls 9: Ahana Shah (Mumbai) – T-42 (41-42-34), Suhani Chandra (Gurugram) – T-78 (43-42-41), Aahana Shrivastava (Gurugram) – T-82 (44-41-42)
