RUSH TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- One of the top kid golfers in the world is from right here in our area.
"It started at about 3 years old. He used to use just regular plastic play clubs, and my father-in-law bought him a junior set, and he just started hitting balls in the yard, and he made solid contact, and we thought that was highly unusual for a 3 year old," Jared Vinc recalled.
It's hard to pry 8-year-old Sam Vinc away from the golf course.
"When I first played golf, it actually felt fun, and I just kept doing it," said Sam.
That passion for golf has this right-handed sweet swinger from the Tamaqua area glued to the sport, and it's led to some early success. Already at a young age, Sam has put together a pretty impressive resume.
He won a state title last year and solidified a top-20 finish at the World Championships in North Carolina against other kid golfers from across the globe. Since he started hitting the links and competing, he's won 31 first-place medals.
"Being from Schuylkill County, it's crazy that my kid's playing golf with kids from Brazil and all over the country," said Sam's father Jared Vinc. "He'll play 18 holes with me, then he'll want to go hit balls on the range, or he'll want to chip and putt."
Sam says he wants to be a professional golfer, idolizing PGA golfers Jordan Spieth, Ricky Fowler, and Justin Rose.