MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) -MI (VO): About five years ago, Claire Swathwood had a realization about what was possible for her as a golfer.
“It was kind of like my freshman year of high school that I realized like if I really take this seriously I think I can go to college and get a scholarship out of it and that kind of thing.”
That’s exactly what happened. What the Carmel, Indiana native probably couldn’t have predicted at the time is that she’d land at Memphis.
Her recruiting visit opened her eyes.
“I totally loved it,” Swathwood says. “There was nothing I didn’t like. I loved coach JJ when we first met, I felt like I clicked with the team really well.”
“Coach JJ”, Memphis women’s golf head coach Jennifer Jordan, recruited Swathwood, and believes her biggest strength in a sport that’s relentless mentally is between the ears.
“She’s just a cool cat really,” says Jordan. “I mean she handles herself well, she’s got a good head on her shoulders, she’s beyond her years in the golf world.”
That calm demeanor allowed Swathwood to have success right away as a true freshman last year. She was top-15 at the conference tournament, and had a best finish of tied for 6th at the Advance Golf Partners Collegiate.
That tournament also produced a moment she’ll never forget: Her first hole-in-one.
“I just couldn’t even believe it,” Swathwood recalls. “Coach JJ was there with me, and I hit and it was tracking the whole time. It hit about a foot short and bounced right in.
“I just kind of turned to her (Jordan) and she turned to me and some words were exchanged. I really feel like I almost blacked out, I’m getting excited thinking about it.”
Probably a close second on the list of recent accomplishments for Swathwood: playing in the USGA Girls Junior Championship.
“I mean it is probably the largest stage you can be on in junior golf,” Swathwood explains.
It’s a stage she’d performed on previously, when she was 14. But this time around, in her last year of eligibility, it served as a reminder of how far she’s come.
“It was almost like a full-circle moment of ‘I do really belong out here,” Swathwood says. “I felt so much more comfortable and ready to attack and try to play well. It was a really amazing experience.”
Swathwood was eliminated in a nine-way second round playoff at the Junior Championship, but she’s already locked in on her sophomore season goals with the Tigers.
“My biggest goal of the year is I want to win a tournament myself,” Swathwood says without hesitation. “So I’m preparing for that as one of those things that I just keep working towards and reassuring myself that I can do.”
“She can accomplish as much as she wants to,” Jordan says. “She sets these goals for herself-and of course I’ve got some other ones for her, but when she sets her goals, they’re pretty high, and she doesn’t stop until she gets them.”
And that mindset shift Swathwood had in high school that carried her here, is now one she’s applying to see if she can extend her golf career indefinitely.
“Maybe I can keep this going past college,” Swathwood says of her mentality. “So it’s been kind of like the same sort of situation where I’ve been like, okay, let’s take this even more seriously and see what I can make out of it.”
The Tigers begin their fall season at the Missouri State/Payne Stewart Memorial in Springfield, Missouri on September 8.
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