NOT TAKING ANYTHING FOR GRANTED
3/25/2021 10:36:00 AM | Women's Golf, Champions' TriBUne
I Never Imagined Being Able to Play at Augusta National
Champions' TriBUne Archive
By: Gurleen Kaur
Champions' TriBUne is a special feature through Baylor Athletics that gives you the student-athlete's perspective and the chance for them to share their own story. Gurleen Kaur, a fourth-year junior from Houston, is a two-time All-American who entered this season as Baylor's all-time leader with a career scoring average of 72.95. She was a two-time medalist in the fall and helped the then-No. 1 Bears win an unprecedented five tournament titles in a row. Kaur is part of an elite 85-player field that will compete in the Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship that begins Wednesday, March 31 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.:
Growing up, I was quite the shy kid and did not have many friends. My parents encouraged me to play many sports to try bringing me out of my shell, but I found peace in golf. I loved being by myself, grinding and seeing results come about. My favorite aspect about individual sports is when you succeed or do well, you get all the praise and credit, but when you fail, you can only blame yourself. Once you start playing golf, it becomes so addicting to want to see yourself get better. You start dedicating lots of time and energy towards practicing to get results. In high school, I was not sure whether I wanted to play in college, but I realized I had a bit of talent mixed in with a lot of hard work, and I made it my goal to get a full-ride scholarship to an NCAA Division I college.
My first visit to Baylor was like falling in love. I first reached out to head coach Jay Goble during my junior year, and he was excited to bring me on to campus. I had a great experience bonding with Coach Jay and Coach Ryan (Ashburn), who was the assistant coach at the time. I felt like I was coming somewhere that was familiar and felt like family.
The facilities provided to the golf team are top-class, and I was sure that I could build my career at Baylor. I committed at the end of my junior year and never regretted my decision.
I get a lot of questions from my family and friends about Baylor being a Christian-affiliated school. Something that many people may not know about me is that I am not Christian; I follow the Sikhism faith. But, I have never felt uncomfortable at Baylor; people have embraced my faith and actually expressed interest in wanting to learn more about it. That is the thing I love about Baylor; no one has ever treated me differently because of my faith or beliefs.
I have enjoyed learning more about Christianity and seeing the similarities and differences from what I believe in.
I came to Baylor a semester early in January 2018 instead of August 2018. Coach Jay asked me if I would consider coming early because he had a player transfer and wanted me to come make a difference in the lineup in order to get to the national championship. I said yes, graduated high school a semester early, packed my bags and drove 2 ½ hours from Houston to Waco. I mentally and physically struggled that first semester. I had just turned 18 and did not know how to manage my time efficiently with school and golf. I learned a lot about myself and quickly realized what it takes to be successful in college. Sacrifice is important, and being able to prioritize is something every athlete can understand.
Getting to the National Championship was one of the greatest experiences I have had as a collegiate golfer. Being able to compete at the highest level in college golf is something that is indescribable. Sometimes, I think about whether it was a mistake coming early to Baylor. But, being an All-American after one semester and having more experience, is something I do not regret.
My sophomore year, a new tournament was created, called the Augusta National Women's Amateur. It is one of the biggest tournaments in amateur golf and invites the top 80 girls in the world to come and play at Augusta National. Being invited to that tournament was a dream come true as it was a goal of mine since the tournament was announced. I was supposed to play in 2020, but it was canceled due to COVID-19. Therefore, I was able to keep my invitation and play this year. The opportunity to play on one of the greatest golf courses in the world with so much history and tradition makes me speechless. I never imagined I would be able to play Augusta National as a girl, but now I'm grateful and ecstatic.
You don't realize how good you have it until it is taken away from you. Having our golf season taken away from us last March because of COVID-19 was heart-breaking. It taught me how to not take any moment, any practice, any tournament with my team for granted as it could go away in a second. I believe having the opportunity to play golf again last fall was the reason for our great success. We won three tournaments in a row in the fall and won two more this spring, and it was something that I had never been a part of until last year.
I realized that playing in the fall of 2020 throughout a pandemic was such a blessing and took advantage of every moment. Winning is a benefit, but just being able to practice and laugh with my teammates is something I hope is never taken away again. Being ranked No. 1 in the nation is a blessing in disguise. It's a blessing to be in that position, but now you have the pressure of everyone watching what your team is doing.
I am so thankful for my experience at Baylor thus far. Being on a team that is so competitive and mentally tough is what keeps me motivated to push myself. I am so grateful for Coach Jay and Coach Carly (Ludwig) for giving me an opportunity to play to the best of my abilities and for pushing me every day to be better. Baylor has made me a better golfer, but more importantly a better person. I have created friendships that I know will last forever and created memories that I treasure.
Because of Baylor, I have been able to travel all across the country and even out of the United States to Cabo San Lucas and The Bahamas. I have gotten to play on first-class golf courses that people dream of playing, and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I cannot wait to finish off this semester on a high note as our team tries to chase a national championship in May at Grayhawk Golf Club in Phoenix, Ariz.
Previous Champions' TriBUne Features:
Baseball - Andy Thomas (March 4, 2021)
Men's Tennis - Charlie Broom (Feb. 11, 2021)
Volleyball - Marieke van der Mark (Dec. 3, 2020)
Football - Raleigh Texada (Nov. 12, 2020)
Men's Cross Country - Ryan Hodge (Oct. 29, 2020)
Women's Cross Country - Sarah Antrich (Oct. 15, 2020)
Volleyball - Hannah Sedwick (Oct. 1, 2020)
Soccer - Maddie Algya (Sept. 10, 2020)
Men's Basketball - Freddie Gillespie (March 26, 2020)
Women's Track & Field - Tuesdi Tidwell (March 20, 2020)
Women's Basketball - Moon Ursin (March 5, 2020)
Men's Track & Field - Cole Hardan (Feb. 27, 2020)
Volleyball - Shelly Stafford (Jan. 30, 2020)
Men's Golf - Mike McGraw (Jan. 3, 2020)
Volleyball - Yossiana Pressley (Dec. 5, 2019)
Baseball - Nick Loftin (Nov. 21, 2019)
Men's Cross Country - Ryan Day (Nov. 1, 2019)
Women's Cross Country - Lindsay Walton (Oct. 15, 2019)
Men's Basketball - Obim Okeke (Oct. 1, 2019)
Volleyball - Gia Milana (Sept. 17, 2019)
Soccer - Raegan Padgett (Sept. 5, 2019)
Football - Sam Tecklenburg (Aug. 29, 2019)
Men's Golf - Cooper Dossey (July 11, 2019)
Baseball - Richard Cunningham (June 27, 2019)
Men's Tennis - Jimmy Bendeck (June 14, 2019)
Baseball - Shea Langeliers (May 30, 2019)
Women's Track & Field - Kiana Horton (May 22, 2019)
Men's Golf - Garrett May (May 9, 2019)
Women's Golf - Maria Vesga (May 2, 2019)
Acrobatics & Tumbling - Camryn Bryant (April 25, 2019)
Equestrian - Shannon Hogue (April 16, 2019)
Women's Tennis - Angelina Shakhraichuk (April 9, 2019)
Women's Basketball - Lauren Cox (March 22, 2019)
Men's Track & Field - Wil London (March 7, 2019)
Men's Basketball - Jake Lindsey (March 4, 2019)
Softball - Nicky Dawson (Feb. 21, 2019)
Baseball - Josh Bissonette (Feb. 14, 2019)
Men's Tennis - Will Little (Jan. 31, 2019)
Men's Basketball - King McClure (Jan. 17, 2019)
Women's Basketball - Chloe Jackson (Jan. 3, 2019)
Football - Blake Blackmar (Dec. 13, 2018)
Volleyball - Braya Hunt (Nov. 29, 2018)
Soccer - Jackie Crowther (Nov. 16, 2018)
Women's Cross Country - Alison Andrews-Paul (Nov. 8, 2018)
Football- Ira Lewis (Nov. 6, 2018)
By: Gurleen Kaur
Champions' TriBUne is a special feature through Baylor Athletics that gives you the student-athlete's perspective and the chance for them to share their own story. Gurleen Kaur, a fourth-year junior from Houston, is a two-time All-American who entered this season as Baylor's all-time leader with a career scoring average of 72.95. She was a two-time medalist in the fall and helped the then-No. 1 Bears win an unprecedented five tournament titles in a row. Kaur is part of an elite 85-player field that will compete in the Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship that begins Wednesday, March 31 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.:
Growing up, I was quite the shy kid and did not have many friends. My parents encouraged me to play many sports to try bringing me out of my shell, but I found peace in golf. I loved being by myself, grinding and seeing results come about. My favorite aspect about individual sports is when you succeed or do well, you get all the praise and credit, but when you fail, you can only blame yourself. Once you start playing golf, it becomes so addicting to want to see yourself get better. You start dedicating lots of time and energy towards practicing to get results. In high school, I was not sure whether I wanted to play in college, but I realized I had a bit of talent mixed in with a lot of hard work, and I made it my goal to get a full-ride scholarship to an NCAA Division I college.
My first visit to Baylor was like falling in love. I first reached out to head coach Jay Goble during my junior year, and he was excited to bring me on to campus. I had a great experience bonding with Coach Jay and Coach Ryan (Ashburn), who was the assistant coach at the time. I felt like I was coming somewhere that was familiar and felt like family.
The facilities provided to the golf team are top-class, and I was sure that I could build my career at Baylor. I committed at the end of my junior year and never regretted my decision.
I get a lot of questions from my family and friends about Baylor being a Christian-affiliated school. Something that many people may not know about me is that I am not Christian; I follow the Sikhism faith. But, I have never felt uncomfortable at Baylor; people have embraced my faith and actually expressed interest in wanting to learn more about it. That is the thing I love about Baylor; no one has ever treated me differently because of my faith or beliefs.
I have enjoyed learning more about Christianity and seeing the similarities and differences from what I believe in.
I came to Baylor a semester early in January 2018 instead of August 2018. Coach Jay asked me if I would consider coming early because he had a player transfer and wanted me to come make a difference in the lineup in order to get to the national championship. I said yes, graduated high school a semester early, packed my bags and drove 2 ½ hours from Houston to Waco. I mentally and physically struggled that first semester. I had just turned 18 and did not know how to manage my time efficiently with school and golf. I learned a lot about myself and quickly realized what it takes to be successful in college. Sacrifice is important, and being able to prioritize is something every athlete can understand.
Getting to the National Championship was one of the greatest experiences I have had as a collegiate golfer. Being able to compete at the highest level in college golf is something that is indescribable. Sometimes, I think about whether it was a mistake coming early to Baylor. But, being an All-American after one semester and having more experience, is something I do not regret.
My sophomore year, a new tournament was created, called the Augusta National Women's Amateur. It is one of the biggest tournaments in amateur golf and invites the top 80 girls in the world to come and play at Augusta National. Being invited to that tournament was a dream come true as it was a goal of mine since the tournament was announced. I was supposed to play in 2020, but it was canceled due to COVID-19. Therefore, I was able to keep my invitation and play this year. The opportunity to play on one of the greatest golf courses in the world with so much history and tradition makes me speechless. I never imagined I would be able to play Augusta National as a girl, but now I'm grateful and ecstatic.
You don't realize how good you have it until it is taken away from you. Having our golf season taken away from us last March because of COVID-19 was heart-breaking. It taught me how to not take any moment, any practice, any tournament with my team for granted as it could go away in a second. I believe having the opportunity to play golf again last fall was the reason for our great success. We won three tournaments in a row in the fall and won two more this spring, and it was something that I had never been a part of until last year.
I realized that playing in the fall of 2020 throughout a pandemic was such a blessing and took advantage of every moment. Winning is a benefit, but just being able to practice and laugh with my teammates is something I hope is never taken away again. Being ranked No. 1 in the nation is a blessing in disguise. It's a blessing to be in that position, but now you have the pressure of everyone watching what your team is doing.
I am so thankful for my experience at Baylor thus far. Being on a team that is so competitive and mentally tough is what keeps me motivated to push myself. I am so grateful for Coach Jay and Coach Carly (Ludwig) for giving me an opportunity to play to the best of my abilities and for pushing me every day to be better. Baylor has made me a better golfer, but more importantly a better person. I have created friendships that I know will last forever and created memories that I treasure.
Because of Baylor, I have been able to travel all across the country and even out of the United States to Cabo San Lucas and The Bahamas. I have gotten to play on first-class golf courses that people dream of playing, and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I cannot wait to finish off this semester on a high note as our team tries to chase a national championship in May at Grayhawk Golf Club in Phoenix, Ariz.
Previous Champions' TriBUne Features:
Baseball - Andy Thomas (March 4, 2021)
Men's Tennis - Charlie Broom (Feb. 11, 2021)
Volleyball - Marieke van der Mark (Dec. 3, 2020)
Football - Raleigh Texada (Nov. 12, 2020)
Men's Cross Country - Ryan Hodge (Oct. 29, 2020)
Women's Cross Country - Sarah Antrich (Oct. 15, 2020)
Volleyball - Hannah Sedwick (Oct. 1, 2020)
Soccer - Maddie Algya (Sept. 10, 2020)
Men's Basketball - Freddie Gillespie (March 26, 2020)
Women's Track & Field - Tuesdi Tidwell (March 20, 2020)
Women's Basketball - Moon Ursin (March 5, 2020)
Men's Track & Field - Cole Hardan (Feb. 27, 2020)
Volleyball - Shelly Stafford (Jan. 30, 2020)
Men's Golf - Mike McGraw (Jan. 3, 2020)
Volleyball - Yossiana Pressley (Dec. 5, 2019)
Baseball - Nick Loftin (Nov. 21, 2019)
Men's Cross Country - Ryan Day (Nov. 1, 2019)
Women's Cross Country - Lindsay Walton (Oct. 15, 2019)
Men's Basketball - Obim Okeke (Oct. 1, 2019)
Volleyball - Gia Milana (Sept. 17, 2019)
Soccer - Raegan Padgett (Sept. 5, 2019)
Football - Sam Tecklenburg (Aug. 29, 2019)
Men's Golf - Cooper Dossey (July 11, 2019)
Baseball - Richard Cunningham (June 27, 2019)
Men's Tennis - Jimmy Bendeck (June 14, 2019)
Baseball - Shea Langeliers (May 30, 2019)
Women's Track & Field - Kiana Horton (May 22, 2019)
Men's Golf - Garrett May (May 9, 2019)
Women's Golf - Maria Vesga (May 2, 2019)
Acrobatics & Tumbling - Camryn Bryant (April 25, 2019)
Equestrian - Shannon Hogue (April 16, 2019)
Women's Tennis - Angelina Shakhraichuk (April 9, 2019)
Women's Basketball - Lauren Cox (March 22, 2019)
Men's Track & Field - Wil London (March 7, 2019)
Men's Basketball - Jake Lindsey (March 4, 2019)
Softball - Nicky Dawson (Feb. 21, 2019)
Baseball - Josh Bissonette (Feb. 14, 2019)
Men's Tennis - Will Little (Jan. 31, 2019)
Men's Basketball - King McClure (Jan. 17, 2019)
Women's Basketball - Chloe Jackson (Jan. 3, 2019)
Football - Blake Blackmar (Dec. 13, 2018)
Volleyball - Braya Hunt (Nov. 29, 2018)
Soccer - Jackie Crowther (Nov. 16, 2018)
Women's Cross Country - Alison Andrews-Paul (Nov. 8, 2018)
Football- Ira Lewis (Nov. 6, 2018)
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