A Major Coup

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Gurleen Kaur knows that the chance to play historic Augusta National may never come again.
            That made it hard to back out of the Augusta National Women's Amateur that began Wednesday at the host city for one of the PGA Tour's major championships. Instead, the fifth-year Baylor senior is one of four amateurs playing in The Chevron Championship – the first of five LPGA Tour majors – the begins Thursday at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
            "I think I would have chosen Augusta National Women's Am if I hadn't ever played there before and I wasn't a senior who was about to turn professional," said Kaur, who played in last year's amateur tournament in Augusta, Ga. "Being out here is an experience that I feel like I can't get anywhere else. I was really looking forward to going to Augusta again, but it's definitely an honor to be out here in Palm Springs."
            Ranked as one of the top-30 collegiate players in the country, Kaur has a 71.75-stroke average this season with six top-25 finishes in eight events, including her fourth-career win at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational back in October.
            One of only four amateurs in the field, Kaur had practice rounds this week with Stacy Lewis, Pernilla Lindberg and Brittany Lincicome – who are all past winners of the tournament that was previously the ANA Inspiration – and played nine holes with world No. 1-ranked Jin-young Ko.
            "She was super cool, and it was nice to learn from her," Kaur said of Jin-young, a two-time LPGA Player of the Year who has won on this course before. "She and her caddy both gave me tips on the golf course, because they've been here multiple times. Just having those practice sessions and seeing what the professionals do has been a learning experience also."
            In Thursday's opening round, Kaur will tee off at 10:59 CT and will be paired with South Korean Lee Mi-hyang, the runner-up to Jin-young at the 2019 ANA Inspiration.
            "There are only four amateurs in the field, and she got an invite. That just proves how great she is and how accomplished of a player she is," Baylor coach Jay Goble said. "We're excited to be out here and watch her play this week."
            Baylor associate head coach Carly Ludwig will be Kaur's caddy for the tournament, "and she's caddied for me in plenty of tournaments before," Kaur said.
            "She knew the golf course before we came here. When she was at San Diego State, they had their conference meet here a couple times," Kaur said. "And she caddied for one of our former golfers, Elodie (Chapelet), at the first stage of (LPGA) qualifying school last year. Having her know the course, the experience, has definitely been helpful."
            This isn't Kaur's first try at a professional tournament. Last June, she made the 36-hole cut at the U.S. Women's Open at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, where she was in the top 20 through the first two rounds at 2-over-par 144.
            "I think she would tell you, she learned a lifetime worth of info in that one week," Goble said. "She wanted to have that experience again of playing with pros and playing on a huge stage and playing on, honestly, the biggest stage you can play on."
            Kaur, on pace to break her own single-season school scoring record, said last year's U.S. Women's Open was "really eye-opening for me to know that I can play at this level."
            "My game isn't completely different than the professionals out here," she said. "It's all about endurance and making smart decisions and keeping your short game smart. The No. 1 player doesn't hit it 280 (yards) off the tee. It's all about playing the best you can, week by week.
"Just going to the Open was a good experience. This course has the same type of grass as there, and the rough has a similar feeling, too. I think it was just a good experience to just hit fairways and greens, just like I needed to do at Olympic Club."
Coming off a top-5 finish at the PING/Arizona State Invitational in Phoenix, Kaur is in the midst of one of the busiest stretches of her young golf-playing career. This is the fourth tournament in in the last month for the senior from Houston, and she will play in the Bruzzy Challenge a week from Monday in Lantana, Texas.
"These events don't bother me in that aspect, golf-wise," she said. "It just gets kind of hard in terms of school, because I wasn't in school last Monday, and I won't be in school until next Monday. That's been a little stressful for me, because I enjoy doing well in school. At the end of the day, it doesn't really bother me. It's just golf, good preparation, I guess."
With plans to go through the LPGA Q School in the fall, Kaur would love the chance to play in The Chevron Championship next year when it moves to her hometown of Houston.
"Rumor is that it's going to be at Houston Oaks, which is only 20 minutes from my house," Kaur said. "And it's also where we're having the Big 12 (Championship) this year (April 22-24). That would be cool to play well here and then, hopefully, be able to qualify for it next year on a course that I'm very familiar with."
All four rounds of The Chevron Championship will be streamed live by the Golf Channel on NBC Sports App.

Players Mentioned

Gurleen Kaur

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A Major Coup

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