Saskatoon’s Alex Swinnerton will be continuing his golf career with a Division 2 United States university next year.
Swinnerton, 17, has committed to Indiana University of Pennsylvania located about 100 kilometres north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Joining Swinnerton at the school will be his close friend and Waskesiu Golf Course co-worker Guillermo Salazar. Swinnerton admitted the move to a university with over 10,000 students will be easier having Salazar alongside.
“I introduced him to coach (Dan) Braun at IUP and he offered him a spot,” Swinnerton explained. “We both visited down there, and we felt at home as soon as we got there.”
Swinnerton said the process to decide on a college has spanned a couple years. He said when he was 14 years old, he began to take the game more seriously, competed in tournaments, and made the decision to achieve the goal of collegiate golf.
“I saw myself improving, I went with Jeff (Chambers), 15 came and again I started playing more tournaments like the provincials, Future Links, things like that. That was big, to play in those big events. That’s when I really told myself golf is what I want to do,” he said.
The grade 12 student has one year left of junior eligibility and has his sights set on the Saskatchewan Junior Men’s Championship and the Canada Games. He said having his education plans set he can focus on having a positive season to cap his junior career.
“I just want to have fun playing this year, be with the friends for a little bit longer then hit the road to Pennsylvania,” he said.
Swinnerton plans to study business and marketing in the classroom and hopefully continue t stay in the golf industry once he graduates.
You can hear more from Swinnerton in his interview with Golf Saskatchewan’s Clark Stork below.
*Note – Golf Saskatchewan will hear from Salazar on Tuesday.