Swedick set course record
Seven pars over seven holes is where Albany Academy for Girls golf star Kennedy Swedick stood at the start of her opening round of the Section II Tournament and state qualifier, in a familiar place atop the leaderboard.
“I knew I had it in me to make a few birdies. I was playing well and striking it well,” said Swedick, winner of the state championship in both 2021 and 2022.
Quality play shifted to scintillating golf Oct. 11 at Edison Club. Over her final 11 holes, the senior shot a blistering 10-under par to set a course record with a round of 62. Swedick followed up Friday by posting a final round 68 to register a two-day total of 130 strokes — 14-under par and 20 shots better than runner-up Hayden Knapp from South Glens Falls.
For her efforts, Swedick has been selected as the Times Union’s Girls’ Athlete of the Week for Oct. 915.
Swedick’s round took off after she hit a hybrid within a foot of the pin on the eighth hole and tapped in for an eagle on the par-5.
“I was really just dialed in and felt like I was in the zone,” Swedick said. “I just kept hitting shots close and putts close. My goal for the
day kept moving up. My goal starting out was 6-under. By the time I had that birdie streak, I felt like, ‘Hey, maybe we can get to 10.’ It was really cool to keep the pedal down for that round and not let up.”
Swedick unleashed a barrage of birdies on the back nine, making five straight from hole No. 10 through No. 14 and also added another on the 18th. She drained a 20-foot eagle putt on the 17th hole as well. The longest birdie during the run of five straight was from 15 feet on the 13th hole as she shot 28 on the back nine.
“My drives were definitely a strength this week. I was hitting them far and straight,” Swedick said.
Swedick, who has played in every one of the Section II girls’ golf tournaments
held, said it was extra special having former LPGA star and current CBS golf commentator Dottie Pepper there to congratulate the senior on her historic two-day performance. The round of 62 will be talked about for years to come.
“It is definitely one of the top (rounds), especially with getting the course record and all of that,” said Swedick, who is set play next month in the American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex Tournament of Champions in San Antonio. “Doing it at sectionals and seeing how much the game of golf has grown for girls is just amazing. I remember the inaugural tournament when Dottie came down to see how the game has grown. To shoot a 62 at this tournament with Dottie there is beyond words.”