By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
It didn’t take long for Armaan Singh to adjust to his new surroundings when he arrived at West Windsor-Plainsboro High South., A transfer from India, Singh arrived at WW-P South in January and three months later he is making an impact on the golf course the Pirates., “One of the gym teachers came up to me one day and and said one of my kids is a golfer,” South coach Bob Schurtz said. “I didn’t think much of it and then one day (Singh) ran into me at lunch and introduced himself. In our conversation he said that he handed in all his tournament information to his guidance counselor. He told me how he had played tournament in India and I thought I had a guy. Very few times does it work out. In this case this one has really worked out., “He is such a good kid. He has such a positive impact on his peers. He has a strong golf game and mental approach. He’s one of those special players.”, Singh shot a 73 and tied for fourth on Monday as the Pirates finished fourth in the North Division at the High Bridge Hills Tournament. South’s Byron Chin shot a 72 to finish tied for second. Montgomery finished third, led by a Jake McCarthy who shot a 73., “I transferred from India, where I used to play national tournament,” Singh said. “My sister moved here and I moved here with her and my mom. It was a good opportunity coming here and playing high school golf. We didn’t have team tournaments in India, so that is all new; playing on a team in an individual sport. It builds a sense of unity and that has helped me a lot. Working with my teammates has also helped me.”, Singh played tournaments in India and had a national ranking in golf., “I have played a lot of golf,” he said. “I started in 2013. I came here in January. I just hit a few balls. I got my bag and clubs and practiced a few times before tying out for the team. I went out to Princeton Country Club a couple of time. I don’t know if the other players knew about me before I tried out for the team. I am not the kind of guy that boasts about my game. I was quiet just wanted to see what happens. From November to January I didn’t touch a club because of exams in India.”, It didn’t take long for Singh to get into regular season form. He’s been one of the Pirates’ top players along with Chin, giving them a solid pairing at the top of the lineup. He has averaged 37.5 for the regular season and has been under 40 in nine of the 10 matches he has played this season., “Some courses here, like Galloway, are really good layouts and different than India,” Singh said. “We have 8,000 yards in India and these are more like 6,000 yards. So it is different. The conditions are so much better. I am looking forward to the summer tournaments and trying my luck there.”, Schurtz has been impressed with what he has seem from Singh, who has helped the Pirates to a 10-1 start this season., “He is very dedicated,” Schurtz said. “He has only been here a couple of months but he has assumed a leadership role already. He works and trains some of the guys. He has taken some of the younger players under his wing as a junior and they respect him and his knowledge. He has charisma and a likability factor that come across when you meet him.”, Singh and the Pirates will join the rest of the teams from Mercer County on Tuesday for the Mercer County Tournament, which will be played at Mercer Oaks East. They are hoping the tournament goes as well as the regular season has gone so far this year., “We had a hiccup against Haddonfield, which is a very good team,” Schurtz said. “We were missing Byron and we lost a close one. The guys were upset because a couple didn’t score as well as they felt they could have. But we had an opportunity to win. We came back against Hopewell Valley and beat them without Byron. Isshan (Attri) shot a 40, which was his low He has shown the ability to go that low and it is good to see him hit his stride., “And we have a freshman, Aaron Yagnik, who has been a solid No. 4 for us. I knew I had a good nucleus this year. The kids put a lot of time in and then the preseason was rough with the weather and kids on school trips. But they have come together and played well.”
