Swedick, a sophomore, handles herself like a pro
Golfer, 14, misses cut but learns a lot at Symetra event
As she was leaving the scoring tent early Saturday afternoon after signing her card, Kennedy Swedick was told by one of her playing partners, “Good luck in high school.”
That’s something not often heard around the Symetra Tour, a women’s professional golf circuit of mostly 20somethings aspiring to reach the LPGA.
Often times it was easy to forget that Swedick, who is from Altamont, is only 14 and about to enter her sophomore year at Albany Academy for Girls. She handled the galleries, the attention and herself like a true pro, playing on a sponsor’s exemption in the
Twin Bridges Championship at Pinehaven Country Club.
“She should take a ton of positives out of it,” said Anders Mattson, who caddied for Swedick and is one of her instructors. “I did. It was a lot of fun to watch, and I think she learned a ton.”
The golf Saturday wasn’t as good as it was Friday, when she birdied three of her final four holes to post a 5-over-par 76. Swedick opened with two double
bogeys and added a third on her back nine to finish with a 9-over 80.
When her round ended, Swedick was tied for 135th in a 144-player field with a 36-hole score of 14-over 156. The projected cut was 3-over 145, although more than half of the players were on the course or had yet to start when Swedick finished.
“It was still an amazing experience,” Swedick said. “I had a ton of fun with (playing partners) Michelle (Piyapattra) and Cindy (Ha). They were great. I love just being out here, all the fans, all the people who are supporting me. I’m grateful for that.”
Swedick, who hit seven of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens in regulation, needed 37 putts in the round. She drove on to nine fairways Friday and took just 33 putts.
She showed some dexterity with her clubs a couple of times Saturday, hitting intentional draws to get around trees that line Pinehaven’s tight fairways. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to save par after such shots.
“It was nice to see her hit some recovery shots that were maybe a little out of her comfort zone,” Mattson said. “We had a mindset on the back nine and said, ‘Hey, let’s just let it go and have some fun. Let’s see what we can learn on this last nine.’ We tried to couple shots that we maybe wouldn’t otherwise, but there’s nothing to lose at that point.”
Asked where she needed to improve to close the gap on the women pros, Swedick said, “My short game. That’s just huge. Mainly that, and if I get that under control, it’ll be good.”
“In watching some of her golf shots,” Mattson said, “she understood the way she hits it where it was right up with the rest of the girls. She drives it just as far, hits just-as-good approach shots. She found out that there’s some learning curve in the short game, and how important those short putts become.”
Coming off an impressive performance last week in the U.S. Girls’ Junior at Chevy Chase, Md., where she qualified and advanced to the second round of match play, Swedick’s road tour continues. She leaves at 6 a.m. Sunday for the Girls Junior PGA Championship at Valhalla in Louisville, Ky.
“She’s going to appreciate Valhalla versus Pinehaven with the open air,” Mattson said. “That open Kentucky air will feel good.”