Teen-aged golfer Pratima Sherpa is all set to travel to the United States of America on July 2 with the view to hone her golfing skills and participate at some of the local tournaments. 

The 18-year-old golfer will spend five weeks in training and compete in at least three local events during her US stay. Sherpa, one of the leading female golfers of the country, will travel along coach Sachin Bhattarai, informed Nepal Golf Association (NGA) which initiated for the programme. “NGA is proud to promote talented golfers like Sherpa,” said Deepak Acharya, the development director of NGA on Tuesday. 

Qatar Airways has sponsored the return tickets for Sherpa and Bhattarai. Besides the Airways, various organisations and individuals have also supported in the NGA initiative, informed Acharya. “I hope the training and tournament in US will definitely help me to achieve my dreams of becoming the first professional female golfer of the country,” said the 12th Grader, who took up golf at the age of 11 and competed in first ever tournament a year later. “My ambition is to play Ladies Professional Golf Tour (LPGA). The training and tournaments will help me to learn more about golf and play better in future,” boasted Sherpa. According to NGA, Sherpa will undergo four-week training at the Golf Academy of Olivas Links Golf Course, Ventura in California. She will undergo one-week fitness training at the Titliest Performance Institute in California. Titliest is a renowned institute for fitness training which trains golfers according to their physical built-up and abilities.  

The fifth handicap amateur golfer will compete in the Titliest Match Play Championship (July 18-21), Founders Cup (July 31) and Taylormade Tour Championship (July 5 and 6) in the US. “I was awaiting such exposure and these tournaments will be crucial in my golfing career,” Sherpa added.

Sherpa, who lives at a small hut inside the Royal Nepal Golf Club premises with her parents, is among the bright prospects of Nepali golf. Her family earns bread and butter working as garderners in the golf course. The teenager has won 32 amateur titles in the last six years, including Faldo Series in 2014 and 2016 in Kathmandu, the Qualifiers for Faldo Grand Asia Finale in China. Unfortunately, she was deprived of competing in China because she did not have passport. But she obtained citizenship two weeks ago which eventually paved way for her to get the passport. 

NGA General Secretary CB Bhandari said Sherpa was a product of an ambitious Youth Project they started in 2010 and the association was committed in development of budding golfers. Jay Prakash Nair, the country director of Qatar Airways, handed over the return tickets to Sherpa amidst a function at the RNGC on Tuesday.