Feature
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Harshjeet and Anika with Indian
Flag at The Junior Open
ndian duo Harshjeet Singh Sethi
and Anika Verma were invited
to compete at The Junior Open
Championship 2018,
staged
every two years, the event this
year was played at the Eden course, St.
Andrews, Scotland from July 16 -18.
The Eden Course is one of the seven
courses that forms St.Andrews Links,
commonly referred to as “The Home of
Golf”. Opened in 1914, the Eden course
was designed by Harry S Colt and is
named after the Eden estuary.
Harshjeet and Anika were accompanied
by Team Coach Mr. Sundeep Verma
and Manager Mr.Tusshar Mahlotra. The
tournament was very rich in tradition
and unique in the way organized, upon
arrival in St Andrews all the team
members were handed over to the R&A
who took complete responsibility of the
players. The players were housed at the
nearby St.Andrews university dorms
which also catered for their meals,
and are chaperoned at all times by
volunteers assigned by the Tournament
committee. The Opening ceremony was
held adjacent to the 18th Green of the
Old Course with Mr.Jordan Speith -the
defending champion of The Open as the
chief guest.
There were a total of 135 competitors for
the championship this year, Harshjeet
¿ nished at 20th position with a total
score of 219 (74, 71 & 74) and Anika at
37th position with total score 224 (75,
74 & 75). They both had a creditable
performance considering both of them
have no past experience competing on
a Links track. Martin Vorster of South
Africa won the championship with a
total score of 205 (66, 65 & 74).
All the competitors were given The
Open Championship experience post
the tournament, the players were taken
to Carnoustie Golf Links, the venue
of the 147th Open Championship on
Thursday and Friday to witness the best
players in the world in action. 40 lucky
competitors had a afternoon tee time on
Tuesday, the second day of the Junior
Open, were given the opportunity to
play the famous 17th and 18th holes of
the Old Course at St Andrews Links.
Being a part of The Junior Open was
indeed an experience of a lifetime.
GolfPlus Junior August-September 2018
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