PLAINFIELD – “That’s my best shot of the day,” freshman Salil Khanduja said after seeing his approach shot on the 7th hole at Tuesday’s IHSA Regional at Naperbrook Golf Course in Plainfield. He was right, because it was the shot that sealed the individual medal win for him.
Khanduja ended up with an eagle on the 7th hole. He led all golfers with a 3-under-69, three strokes better than second-place Aman Shah from Metea Valley and Naperville Central’s Andrew Maul. Khanduja and Shah were in the final foursome and matched each other almost shot-for-shot on the back nine until Khanduja’s eagle.
(photo credit / WVTV)
“I hit a phenomenal drive off the tee that set it up,” said Khanduja, who shot three birdies to go along with his eagle. “That put us back in the mix to try to get back into sectionals.”
Junior Kenton Esch also advanced to IHSA Sectionals with a 5-over-77. Esch parred every hole in the back nine except for the final two where he bogeyed. Alex Wiley finished with a 7-over-79, but did not qualify for sectionals.
The Warriors were one stroke shy of advancing to sectionals as a team, finishing with a 312. Naperville Central won the regional title with a 309, followed by Neuqua Valley and Metea Valley with a 311.
IHSA Sectionals take place at Blackberry Oaks on Tuesday.