By Kate Parsons Proctor
Special to the Reporter
Adithi Anand described the experience as “surreal” as she claimed the Washington Junior Golf Association (WJGA) state title on Aug. 5 after she shot a 72 in the final round. Anand beat out the best junior golfers in the state to notch first place in the girls 14-18 age division.
Her road to victory was not a straight path. The tournament, held at Fairwood Golf & Country Club and Meridian Valley Country Club, included three rounds over three days. After each round, there were cuts until only 14 players remained.
On her first day of the tournament, Anand shot a 74. She soon moved into first place after she shot an impressive 66 on the second day of the competition.
“After being four shots back on the first day, I was just focusing on doing my best and having fun. I came back strongly on day two to shoot the lowest round of the tournament — 66 with eight birdies at Meridian Golf and Country Club where I first qualified for U.S. Girls Junior two years ago,” said Anand.
Anand ended with a total score of 212, four shots ahead of her second-place challenger. She had this to say about her final day of competition: “I led by five shots on the final day but didn’t start well; however, a double bogie helped me to refocus, and I made a few birdies and won by four shots against a good quality field.” She managed to hold off her competitors to claim the victory.
Anand said that there was so much “joy at the moment” as all of her friends and family were there, coming from as as far as Washington DC to support her.
Anand has always been a dedicated golfer. Anand started playing golf at age 6 as a way to spend time with her dad and brother. In the summer, she practices 4-5 hours a day. Her favorite part about the sport is the balance between being dialed into the game and playing recreationally with others.
Anand loves that golf enables her to spend time with her siblings. “Golf is a way I spend time with my friends and family while having fun. It is a huge stress reliever, and practicing and playing refreshes me,” she said.
Currently, Anand is a junior-to-be at Redmond High School and plans on continuing to play for the school’s golf team. As for her long-term plans, Anand hopes to continue to play golf and compete in amateur tournaments.
Anand highlighted that her ultimate goals are “to succeed in college golf and continue on tour.”
At RHS, she took first at 3A districts and second at state as a freshman, and finished first at the 3A KingCo medalist tournament, tied for first at districts and placed eighth at state as a sophomore.
