Augusta: The fearless goddess. That’s what the name Nirvika translates from Sanskrit.
On Sunday, a day before the world’s finest golfers congregate at the Augusta National Golf Club for this week’s Masters, 14-year-old Nirvika Koduru lived up to her name as she blitzed the field in the girls’ 14-15 age category and won the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals in record fashion.
Nirvika, whose family hails from the coastal town of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh and lives in Boca Raton, Florida, was second in driving and third in chipping, when the girls moved to the final part of the challenge – the pressure-packed cauldron that is the 18th green of Augusta National. With thousands of patrons watching, she rammed in the first of her two putts from 30 feet, and then snuggled the ball close to the cup for the second, winning the individual honour and 11 points in putting.
She became the first US player of Indian origin to win a DCP title, and only the second player with Indian roots (Savannah Grewal, a Canadian of Indian origin, won the same category in 2017) to triumph in one of the largest grow-the-game initiatives in golf. The local qualifying, the first stage of the process, is held across 353 cities in the US and Canada with hundreds of kids participating in each venue.
The 30 points she aggregated tied the all-time DCP record across age categories, and the 7.5-point winning margin was the largest among the eight categories in 2026.
“I am so happy to have won the title, but I felt even better that I performed consistently in all three stages – Drive, Chip and Putt. I played pretty consistently, and I just tried not to focus on what’s around me. I pretended I’m at home because the pressure is really on when you’re out there,” said Nirvika, who fell in love with golf as a five-year-old while playing on a simulator at an uncle’s house.
Nirvika is one of several successful US golfers of Indian origin in recent years. Akshay Bhatia was among the first to command attention.
However, players with south Indian roots have become a trend now. PGA Tour superstar Sahith Theegala started a wave that is assuming epic proportions with players like Megha Ganne (world No.6 amateur), Mahanth Chirravuri (world No.19 amateur) and Canada’s Sudarshan Yellamaraju, who has risen to world No.119 after his Players Championship heroics (T5), continuously in the limelight.
Nirvika’s father Raj and mother Shravani moved to the US in the 1990s for higher studies. Golf wasn’t a part of any conversation when they were growing up. But the joy it gave to their two daughters was enough for them to first build a garage and buy a simulator, and later move from Northern Virginia to Boca Raton so that Nirvika could practice in 12 months of sunshine.
“I was an elite student myself, but over the years, I have understood that learning life lessons are more important than the education you get in a classroom,” Raj said.
“One thing I have seen in my daughter is the way she handles her failures and successes these days. Sports, unlike education, is binary – you either win or you lose. She has lost more times than she has won in golf, and she is prepared for that. She will be the same smiling person even when she loses.”
These are early days for Nirvika, but she has set her mind on becoming a professional golfer.
“What I love most about golf is how it makes me feel calm and confident at the same time. I enjoy spending time outdoors, meeting new people and learning how to handle pressure. Every round feels like a new adventure and I love seeing my hard work show up on the course,” said Nirvika, who is a huge fan of world No.1 Scottie Scheffler (“for how humble he is”), Bryson DeChambeau (“for his work ethics”) and former women’s world No.1 Nelly Korda (“for her perfect swing”).
“The hardest part for me is keeping my focus steady and not letting negative thoughts take over when I face a challenge on the golf course. I’ve been practicing ways to reset, breathe and think positive so I can stay confident and committed to every shot.
“I want to become a professional golfer, but I also want to be a doctor. The first goal is to get into a good Division 1 university, and keep working on my golf.”