SLIPPERY ROCK — Brett Rinker doesn't remember picking up a golf club and swinging it for the first time.

Too young to recall such things, the only proof he has is pictures of himself as a 4-year-old clutching a club.

"It's kind of weird," said Rinker, who will be a sophomore at Slippery Rock High. "I do remember my first tournament."

Rinker also remembers the days of shooting in the 80s for nine holes as he learned to harness his golfing talent.

Those 80s shrank into the 70s, then the 60s, 50s, 40s and now in the 30s.

That progress helped make Rinker a regular on the PGA Juniors tour, as well as on the Plantations Junior Golf Tour, during the summer.

Now 15 and a veteran of more than 50 tournaments, Rinker has been in the hunt to win nearly every tournament he has entered this spring and summer.

Two weeks ago, he won the PGA Junior Series at Penn State University with three scintillating rounds that culminated with a birdie on a playoff hole.

He shot a 66 in the first round and a 72 in the second — both tournament bests.

His 76 on the third and final round was a disappointment, but one he conquered on the playoff hole to win.

"It was a good feeling," Rinker said. "I hadn't won a tournament in a while. I just wish I didn't need a playoff to do it."

His summer has even included a hole-in-one, which Rinker achieved at Hannastown Golf Course in Greensburg in June.

Rinker's success hasn't been a surprise.

As a freshman on the Slippery Rock High golf team, Rinker became the first male golfer in the 43-year history of the program to advance to the PIAA championships.

His older sister, Jenna, was the first golfer in school history to make the state tournament when she did so as a junior.

Rinker has achieved his consistency through one tried-and-true method.

"Practice," he said.

Rinker has spent countless hours honing his game, particularly on the putting green.

Putting has been a bugaboo for Rinker since he first started playing competitively, but it's one of the major reasons why he has excelled during the past year.

"It's been a big help being able to make putts," Rinker said. "That has always been a problem of mine, it's always been one of my big weaknesses, but I'm doing well at it right now."

With his physical game in tune, Rinker is turning his sights on the mental battle.

Rinker admits he has struggled to find the right balance between being aggressive and conservative in the final rounds of tournaments.

It has cost him precious strokes and nearly cost him the PGA Junior Series.

"It's a little bit of nerves," Rinker said. "That's the next thing I need to correct."

Rinker's father, Marty, has been an invaluable resource in his development.

Marty is the men's golf coach at Clarion University and led the Golden Eagles to a berth in the NCAA Division II National Championship for the first time in school history.

"He helps me out a lot," Brett Rinker said. "It's mostly the little things, the encouragement. It's just nice to know he's around and I can ask him questions."