Published: April 25, 2008 03:36 am            

Oklahoma State freshman golfer fast-tracking to success

STILLWATER, Okla. — Forgive Jaclyn Sweeney for missing her senior prom and graduation next month.

She has other plans.

Three years ago, Sweeney, originally from Andover, Mass., took her talents to golf-rich Bradenton, Fla., and The Pendleton School, where she would soon find out just how competitive golf could be.

During the spring of her junior year last March, she made a visit to Stillwater and Karsten Creek, sight of this weekend’s Big 12 Women’s Golf Championship.

Four words soon followed: Where do I sign?

She was so excited about getting started, the second semester of her senior year of high school turned into her first semester as a college freshman.

“It was about this time last year when I decided to graduate early,” said Sweeney after Thursday’s practice round. “Once I saw (Karsten Creek) I was so ready to get my college experience going.

“Looking back, I may have done things a little differently, playing in more amateur events, but now I know what it takes. I’ve matured so much in the last six or seven months and now I am just enjoying college golf.”

She was an AJGA honorable mention All-American in 2007, a year in which she just missed qualifying for the 2007 Women’s British Open and also competed in LPGA Qualifying School.

Sweeney’s first collegiate tournament included a tie for 28th earlier this spring. Two weeks later, the Cowgirl rookie led Oklahoma State to a team victory in Arizona, finishing second in the medalist race behind Duke’s top-ranked Amanda Blumenhurst.

“Playing with the No. 1 player, I learned a lot,” she said. “You realize that you belong, that you can play with the top players. You have to learn how to win at every level, and that was just part of the process.”

Earlier this month at the PING/ASU Invitational, Sweeney earned her third top 10 in five collegiate starts.

“(Sweeney) is focused, she knows what she wants and she’s known since she left Boston three years ago,” said Cowgirl head coach Laura Matthews, whose squad is ranked ninth in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. “She is a delight to have around and takes nothing for granted. It’s easy to coach someone who is so motivated and has set goals like she has.”

Perhaps the hardest part of Sweeney’s transition over the past six months has been becoming a college student.

“It’s a lot different,” she admits. “I did not have any down time the first month I was here. I had no clue how to balance my time and I think (Wednesday) may have been the first time I’ve actually watched a complete television show.

“You can’t forget books when you go on the road.”

It hasn’t hurt having juniors Karin Kinnerud, Pernilla Lindberg and Amanda Johnson to approach for advice. Kinnerud was part of the 2008 Big 12’s All-Academic first team with a 4.0 GPA and, along with Lindberg, is already a two-time member of the NGCA All-American Scholar Team.

Lindberg is also the highest ranked player in the field this weekend at No. 9.

Oklahoma State has won five Big 12 Conference titles, finishing second to Texas A&M a year ago. The Aggies, OSU and Texas entered Friday’s first round as the favorites in the three-day, 54-hole event.

“I sent the members of the team an e-mail the other night, just telling them that they are playing as well as they’ve played all spring,” Matthews said. “We need to just go out and enjoy this, play golf and have fun with the experience. Enjoy playing at home, soak this up and enjoy playing in front of the home fans because it doesn’t happen very often.

“If we do all that then Sunday will take care of itself.”

The Cowgirls were scheduled to tee off with Texas and Iowa State Friday morning at 9:50. Play continues Saturday and Sunday.



Roger Moore writes for Stillwater (Okla.) NewsPress.