Heavener girl plays in world championship

Khloe Hardin made her appearance on the world golf scene in the first week of August. She had the opportunity to play in U.S Kids World Championship in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

Only the best players in the world got invited to this tournament. The Heavener fourth grader earned her spot at Pinehurst by winning 14 tournaments in the fall of 2021 and in the spring of 2022. She also won U.S Kids Arkansas player of their year in two consecutive seasons. Pinehurst is an extremely difficult tournament and this young girl from Heavener would have her work cut out for her.

She was matched up against the 108 best 9-year-olds in the world. Her first day she came out strong and shot a solid 38, putting herself in 26th place. The second day was another good day as she shot 39. This put her in 29th place going into the final day.

The final day was difficult. The greens were fast and the pin placements were tricky. She navigated her way to a solid 41. Hardin ended up finishing in 34th place.

“I feel like I played well but I left a lot of shots out there,” she said. “I know I could have chipped the ball a lot better but I was really nervous at times.”

She also said she intends on finishing in the top 10 next year. Hardin is currently playing in the fall U.S. Kids Arkansas tour where she has already won the first tournament with a score of 39.