Suburban Life Boys Golfer of the Year: Glenbard West’s Grant Roscich carried over red-hot summer into stellar junior season

Glenbard West's Grant Roscich putts on the 7th green during the Class 3A Oswego Boys Golf Sectional at Blackberry Oaks Golf Course in Bristol on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022.

Grant Roscich can trace the genesis of a stellar junior season on the golf course to the end of last school year.

When he wasn’t on top of his game.

“I’ll be honest, May to early June I wasn’t hitting the ball great,” said Roscich, a Glenbard West junior. “My first tournament of the summer I didn’t play the best, play how I wanted to. From May 15 to June 5, in that time frame, school just got out, I started focusing more on golf.”

Indeed, with no academic commitments Roscich went to school on his golf.

He worked with his coaches at TPS on ways to maneuver the ball. After time, he started to hit with a little pull cut.

“I got a little bit of a waggle I would do before every shot,” Roscich said.

The tweak to his swing certainly paid off.

Roscich over the summer won the Illinois Junior Golf Association’s 53rd Illinois State Junior Amateur by 11 strokes, and by the end of the summer, he was ranked No. 1 in the state and got up to No. 10 in the country. He made his verbal commitment in August to play in college at North Carolina, and his success carried over into the fall.

Roscich earned medalist honors at conference, regionals (where he shot a 67) and sectionals (where he shot a 68) and tied for seventh at state with a two-day total of 148.

For his accomplishments, Roscich is the Suburban Life Boys Golfer of the Year.

“I feel pretty good about the season,” Roscich said. “Going into the season I was very confident in my game. My ball striking was there. My putter struggled in some tournaments but overall ball striking is what shaped my year golf-wise. High school season, I couldn’t have asked for better ball striking to be honest. I was hitting greens, making it close, doing the best I could to put the ball in the best position possible.”

The Illinois State Junior Amateur was a prelude to the fall season.

Roscich started the final round with a six-shot lead. With a birdie on the final hole of the tournament, he finished at 3-under par for an 11-shot win. His previous best finish there was third in 2021.

“It was just a confidence builder,” Roscich said. “I went out the first day, didn’t play my best golf, was tied for the lead, conditions weren’t great and then in the second round I had seven birdies and an eagle for a six-shot lead going into the last day. Tricky conditions that last day. I still shot a 72.”

At sectionals, he played his last 10 holes at 6 under par.

At state, he shot 72 on the last day.

“All those postseason tournaments, I didn’t start the best. The story of the year, postseason-wise, was my back nines,” Roscich said. “I’m not even sure why if I’m being honest. I just felt a little more comfortable the further I got into a round, told myself to pick it up a little bit. It was a confidence booster going into state. I played pretty well the last nine at state.”

With two top 10 finishes at state – Roscich was eighth as a sophomore – and his college plans firmed up, he looks forward to ways to further tighten up his game.

“My game right now can get better,” he said. “My short game and putting, that’s the biggest thing. I’m a little bit better wedge wise, but your wedges and irons can never be too good. That and my short game is what I’m continuing to work on.”

Joshua  Welge

Joshua Welge

I am the Sports Editor for Kendall County Newspapers, the Kane County Chronicle and Suburban Life Media, covering primarily sports in Kendall, Kane, DuPage and western Cook counties. I've been covering high school sports for 24 years. I also assist with our news coverage.