An animal lover in awe with birdies, eagles & albatrosses

Deccan Herald

2 days ago

When Vedika Bhansali makes a par on a golf course, she likes to term it 'a missed birdie' instead. Take for example a query about her four-under round on the final day of the US Kids World Championship at the Pinehurst Golf Resort. And it is met with...
'I missed a birdie to make a par on the first hole,' begins the nine-year-old before adding: 'Hole 2: Missed birdie. Hole 3: Birdie. Hole 4: Missed birdie. Hole 5: Missed birdie. Hole 6: I holed a long putt for a birdie. Hole 7: Missed birdie. Hole 8: Birdie. Hole 9: Birdie.'
The 'birdie, birdie' finish — that she particularly is proud of after rounds of 33-33 — helped Vedika become the first Indian to capture the under-9 title at the event. The young golfer won by one shot over Japan's Emi Minami and two shots clear of USA's Audrey Zhang.
'There were so many people watching me on the last hole of the last day. But I didn't get nervous. I had a long putt for birdie and sank it to win,' Vedika says.
The victory this year comes after finishing fourth twice at the same event in the previous two years. Incidentally, everything the little girl has achieved on the greens and fairways so far was because of a chance meeting with the sport for the family a few summers ago. It was Vedika's love for animals that prompted parents — father Atul Bhansali and mother Chandini — to enroll their first child, then 4.5 years old, for horse riding lessons that eventually led them to golf.
'This was at the ASC (Army Service Corps in Bengaluru) and one day we happened to see the golf course next to the horse riding facility there,' shares Chandini. 'We didn't know anything about golf and wanted to introduce her to a new sport. One thing led to another and here we are today,' she sums up.
After initial lessons from a recreational golfer at ASC, Vedika trained with coach Abdul Raheem at the To The Tee Golf Academy before moving to the Karnataka Golf Association's (KGA) Performance Training Centre by EpicWrx Golf under coach and mentor Rahul Ganapathy, a former top professional golfer.
Apart from Vedika being hardworking and disciplined — a prerequisite for athletes of any age group to succeed — Ganapathy feels it is the maturity and self-awareness beyond her age that make the golfer stand out.
'She may be all of eight or nine years old, but she understands people around her like a 15–16-year-old child. Usually, when we ask a youngster about how the round went, most kids look at the parent or their caddies to help them. But Vedika doesn't flinch. She remembers each and every shot she plays, even the practice/casual rounds on a course, and explains it with a lot of clarity. This will help her develop into an even better golfer going forward,' points out Ganapathy.
The student entering fourth grade soon reveals that the driver and the putter are her two favourite clubs in the bag. 'One lets me hit long and set up birdie chances. The other helps me make birdies,' explains the Nelly Korda follower. 'I want to ask her (Nelly) how her swing is so perfect?'
Would she want to have a swing like Nelly's then? 'No, I want to have a swing that's my own,' insists Vedika.