Loyola student sets record at local invitational

Loyola High School junior Tom Swanson shot a record 64 round of golf to win last Thursday’s Bigfork Invitational hosted by the Eagle Bend Golf Club.

He shot a 29 on the back nine, which has a 36 par. Par for the course is 72. Swanson said it’s the best round of golf he’s ever shot.

“I was getting nervous the last three holes because I wanted to shoot 29,” Swanson said of the back nine. “I probably won’t shoot that well again.”

Thompson’s 64 is not just a record for high school students, it’s a score that very few people have shot while playing a round of 18 at Eagle Bend.

Bigfork High School golf coach Steve Hullet can remember two others who have shot that well or better at Eagle Bend. Both are golf professionals, Gary McCord shot a 61 and Lon Hinkle shot a 63.

“Those are two professionals,” Hullet said. “So it’s pretty impressive stuff.”

Making the long putts is what Swanson attributes his score to.

Hullet said in his 26 years of coaching, he can guarantee that no high school kid has shot a 64 at the Bigfork Invitational before.

“You don’t do that but once in a lifetime,” said Loyola golf coach Dave Klein.

Swanson won the Loyola Invitational on March 29 and 30. He’s played golf for at least 10 years under the tutelage of his father. Last year he won every tournament he played in, including the state B tournament.

Klein said college coaches are already trying to recruit him.

“There’s very few kids in all the classes in the state that could even shoot with him,” Hullet said.