Hinsdale Central freshman Roshannah Gaur is surprise medalist for champs

Roshannah Gaur was Hinsdale Central’s low scorer last weekend for the newly crowned Class AA state girls golf champions, but she didn’t play like a freshman part-timer on the varsity.

Coach Nick Latorre and senior Danielle Smith admitted that they did not notice if Gaur was nervous during the state tournament at Hickory Point Golf Club in Decatur.

Gaur acknowledged that the bulk of her butterflies came the night before the first round on Oct. 16 while trying to fall asleep at the team’s hotel. A conversation with her older sister, Jahanavi, put her at ease.

“The night before, I was a little nervous,” Roshannah Gaur said. “Before going to sleep, my sister and I talked about the team. I asked her, ‘What if I don’t play well?’ She said, ‘The team will look at you the same no matter what happens.’ That helped me sleep at night.”

The daughters of Sameer and Ruchi Gaur of Hinsdale filled different roles for the golf team during the season. Jahanavi Gaur, a junior, competed in more meets and was entered in the West Suburban meet Oct. 1. Roshannah Gaur did not even play in the conference meet, but heated up when Latorre put her name in the lineup for the IHSA postseason.

Roshannah Gaur shot an 80 at the regional and an 81 at the sectional and the Red Devils counted both scores.

Then, for the first time all season, Roshannah Gaur was Hinsdale Central’s medalist at the state meet. She shot 76-79—155 to tie two others for eighth place, finishing 13 shots behind two-time individual champion Jessica Yuen (142) of Neuqua Valley. Rockford Guilford’s Madasyn Pettersen (fourth, 151) was the only freshman to place higher.

“Roshannah’s talent came through in the playoffs,” Latorre said. “She played well at the regional and sectional, too. The is a super-talented golfer.”

Hinsdale Central (634) won its first state title after finishing as the runner-up in 2006.

“On my first day, my putting was pretty good,” Roshannah Gaur said. “I had good lag putts. On the back nine, I was starting to make some putts. On the front, they were close but never fell.”

Gaur was in seventh place after Friday’s first round, boosted by an even-par 36 on the back nine. She birdied the par-4 10th and par-3 16th holes.

On Saturday, her only double-bogey of the tournament came on the 10th hole when her drive and second shots hit some trees.

Gaur said having her sister Jahanavi and parents walk along as spectators during the tournament helped calm her.

Her only senior teammate, Smith, was surprised to find Gaur’s name at the top of the Red Devils leaderboard.

“We knew she was a good player, but we didn’t expect her to play this well,” Smith said. “I told her [before Saturday], ‘Play like it’s a normal tournament on just another day. Stay calm.’ She was fine. She’s good under pressure.”