Nihal Cheema wins US Kids Golf India leg with 4-under 68

Nihal Cheema wins with 4-under 68, Aaradhya shoots 69; Avni logs hole-in-hole at US Kids Golf

Gurugram, Sep 11

The nine-year-old Chandigarh lad, who is coached by Jesse Grewal and mentored at times by Gaganjeet Bhullar among others, had six birdies, two of them on the last two holes, against two bogeys for a 12-shot win over Shivraj Singh and Jamraudh Singh Sidhu, who were tied at 80 each.

Another standout winner with an under-par score was Drona Singh Dhull (Boys 12) with a second successive 1-under 71. Dhull had three birdies on the first, 14th, and 17th, and an eagle on the 18th against four bogeys.

Cheema, who has been prodigious and has been playing since the age of two, is seen as an excellent talent. He was the runner-up at the 2026 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship at Pinehurst No. 1, where he had three under-par rounds and finished 10-under par.

He was also second at the 2026 FCG Callaway World Championship and won the 2024 U.S. Kids Golf European Championship in Scotland, while being in the Boys-7 division. He won the FCG International Championship 2025 in California.

Avni Atreya, one of the seven players to win back-to-back titles after having taken the honours in the first leg, also registered the first hole-in-one of 2026. She holed out from the tee on the Par-3 fifth hole from 140 yards. She had another birdie and six bogeys, but still won with 4-over in Girls 15-18.

The most keenly fought section was the Girls' 11-12, where the top three shot under-par scores. Aaradhya Bhatnagar (69) with seven birdies, including a four-in-a-row streak from 11th to the 14th, against four bogeys, beat Aadya Kaushal (69) in a play-off, while the first-leg winner, Hissi Besra (70), was just one shot back.

Starting from the tenth, Aaradhya was 6-under at one stage after 15 holes, but three closing bogeys saw her finish at 3-under and get into a play-off, which she won.

Aadya also had seven birdies against two bogeys and a double bogey. Hissi opened with an eagle two on Par-4 first and had four other birdies against four bogeys for a 2-under 70.

The seven players who won back-to-back titles in the first two legs were Arjun Adiya (Boys Under 6), Lakshith A (Boys 7), Nihal Cheema (Boys 9), Drona Singh Dhull (Boys 12), Sidhak Handa (Boys 15-18), Prisca Sachdeva (Girls 13-14) and Avni Atreya (Girls 15-18).

Boys and Girls up to the age of eight played nine-hole rounds, while all others played full 18 holes.

The US Kids Golf India (North) series will continue with Legs 3 and 4 in October at the Classic Golf and Country Club, Gurugram.

— IANS