Maya Palanza Gaudin (left) poses with the trophy after winning the final round at the The Glen Golf Club in Scotland.

Abu Dhabi-based Maya Palanza Gaudin finished first in the recent US Kids European Championship (girls age 12 years-old category) at The Glen Golf Club, just outside of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Born in Ethiopia, the 12 year-old Maya, who has lived in Abu Dhabi with her parents, and younger sister for ten years, plays off a 2.7 handicap, and was the 2021 Ladies Club champion at Yas Links Golf Club, Abu Dhabi.

Braving difficult course, cold, windy and rainy weather and competition, Maya met every adversity with determination, grit and a “can-do spirit.”

She played incredibly consistent golf, shooting 72(E); 74(+2) and 74(+2) for a tournament total of 220 (+4) played over the 4,507 yards, par 72 layout.

Round 1 found Maya in first place on top of the leaderboard. In the second round, she dropped to 2nd place, two strokes behind the new leader.

Bouncing back in the third round, she played an incredibly clean front 9 (all pars) and ultimately overtook the current leader by 4 strokes to retake first place and win the European championship!

The next international event on Maya’s schedule is the US Kids Golf World Championships in July at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina (USA).

The US Kids Golf European Championship is the largest golf tournament of its kind across the continent and sees the next generation of golfing stars come together for three days of fierce competition.

More than 500 junior golfers teed off over Craigielaw Golf Club, Glen Golf Club, Longnidrry Golf Club, Royal Musselburgh Golf Club and The Musselburgh Golf Club. Junior golfers from 46 countries were represented, with the farthest talent traveling over 7,000 miles from Chile to compete in the prestigious tournament.