Saskatchewan’s 2019 junior girls champion is going to play college golf in Florida next year.
Autumn Neiszner has committed to the Keiser University Seahawks in West Palm Beach. The grade 12 student at Regina’s Campbell Collegiate said she started searching in the spring for a post-secondary opportunity. After visiting several colleges she decided on a school she never got a chance to see first hand.
“I actually went to eight different colleges, but I didn’t visit Keiser, I did not go there,” she told Golf Saskatchewan. “I think going to the other schools helped me realize what I wanted and what I liked about those schools, but I didn’t have the opportunity to go because of the Coronavirus.”
The Seahawks’ women’s golf team are three-time National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) champions. Keiser student Michela Tjan won the individual NAIA Women’s Championship last year. Neiszner said joining a successful program is a dream come true.
“I didn’t know if going to Keiser was an option because they have such a really great team. I kept in contact with them and this past summer we had a Zoom call and I met representatives from the school. They made me an offer and it was good. They made it sound like they really wanted me, so I was really happy about that because I was never really sure if they were an option,” Neiszner added.
Nov. 11 was national signing day for United States universities. The Neiszner family had a small celebration to acknowledge the accomplishment. The day after Neiszner was still lost for words.
“It’s definitely exciting,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to going down there. I really don’t even know how to put it into words honestly. I’m just really happy to sign and make it official and continue my golf career and see where it takes me.”
She said there is many thanks to pass along as well.
“I want to thank my family for always supporting me in golf and everything. I want to thank Jeff Chambers, my coach for helping me get to where I am in golf. I want to thank the Wascana Country Club and my friends from there, the ladies that played there with me. I want to thank Golf Saskatchewan and the Maple Leaf Junior Tour, and I really want to thank my grandpa for getting me started in the sport,” she said.
Neiszner will graduate from high school this spring, complete her last year of junior golf in Saskatchewan and plans to head to Florida around August pending the COVID-19 situation. For now she will work on her academics and her game.
Neiszner will study in golf management at the university and hopes to work in the industry once she has convocated from the four-year program.