PENN TWP — Anthony Smaldino tinkered with golf. He was never serious about playing it.

Until two years ago.

Having concluded his freshman year at Vincentian Academy, the multi-sport athlete and Penn Township resident joined his family in making a trip to Whistling Straits, Wisc., to watch Butler Country Club pro Rob McClellan compete in the PGA Championship.

The Smaldinos are members at Butler Country Club.

“That weekend, he acquired a vision and passion for the game,” Tony Smaldino said of his son. “I chuckled when he said I want to be one of those guys.”

Such a goal may not be realized, of course, but Smaldino is aiming in that direction.

“I’ll work as hard as I can to get as far as I can,” said Smaldino, now a junior on the Vincentian golf team.

“He’s averaging about 37.5 for nine holes now,” Vincentian golf coach Michael Stanton said. “Over the past year and a half, Anthony’s picked up a lot of distance off the tee.

“He can hit it 300 yards now. And playing at Butler Country Club, where the greens are so nice, has helped him with his putting stroke.

“He has a very solid all-around game now,” Stanton added.

Smaldino attended the Pinehurst (N.C.) golf school this summer and shot a 74 on the Pinehurst No. 2 course, where the U.S. Open was played. He competed in some King’s tour events over the summer as well, winning the second tournament he participated in.

“I never thought I’d win one of those,” Smaldino said. “I didn’t even realize I was in contention until the final few holes.”

In the King’s Tour 16-under championship at Mystic Rock, Smaldino shot a 76 and was involved in a three-way playoff. He knocked out defending WPIAL champion Zach Taylor on the first playoff hole before losing to Javon Trout, a junior at Hempfield who has six junior tournament wins under his belt, on the second hole.

“My confidence has grown,” Smaldino admitted. “I’ve gotten a lot of quality coaching and I feel like my game is improving all the time.”

Smaldino has been coached by Kevin Shields at Nevillewood and McClellan at BCC, among others.

“He’s among the best in the WPIAL right now,” McClellan said. “Last year, he was an average player with potential. Now he’s realizing that potential.

“Anthony is the type of kid that no matter what he does, he excels at it.”

Besides golf, Smaldino runs cross country at Vincentian and is the third best runner on the team. He is a stellar baseball player in the spring and has competed in track and field.

He also carries a 4.8 grade point average in the classroom.

“I want to one day go into the medical field and become a doctor,” Smaldino said. “If I ever make it to the PGA Tour, that would be awesome. All I can do is continue working on my game.

“I definitely want to play golf in college. That’s my No. 1 sport right now. It’s a different kind of sport in that there’s such a huge mental aspect to it. It’s you against the course. You have time to think before every shot. I love it.”

Smaldino plans to play in a few American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) events next summer.

“He hits so well off the tee that he can concentrate on accuracy and not lose much distance,” Stanton said. “His game is so low risk.

“That kid plays smart golf. He has a goal and he’s locked in on it. I wouldn’t put anything past him.”