Golfers surround Jenna Rinker.

Her father, Marty, was the golf pro at ARMCO Golf Club before it changed owners and its name to Oakview Golf Club.

Her brother, Brett, is an avid golfer and a major player in youth tournaments all over the region.

Jenna Rinker never thought much of golf. Basketball is her sport.

"I was mainly a basketball player," she says from the parking lot at Oakview after a successful round of golf with her father Wednesday afternoon. "I was always in the gym. Golf was just something I did. I wasn't really serious about it until the spring."

Jenna, a freshman at Slippery Rock High School, can't get enough of the sport now.

Last week at North Hills Golf Course in Corry, she fired a 103 to place 12th. It was good enough to qualify her for the District 10 Championships, which begin today at Riverside Golf Club in Cambridge Springs.

Not bad for a girl who barely picked up a club before a trip to Myrtle Beach this spring.

While there on vacation, she caught the golfing bug.

She also watched as her brother entered tournament after tournament and did well. She noticed girls her age golfing in their divisions and realized she could compete with them.

"I really thought I could beat them," Jenna said.

And she did.

Her father entered her in a tournament in New Castle and she shot a 93 to finish second.

It was the moment when Jenna realized she could make an impact on the golf course as well as on the basketball court.

"It was so exciting," Jenna said. "I didn't think I would finish second. I didn't even think I would finish third, then to go out and shoot a 93. It was great."

Marty said he could tell his daughter was hooked.

"That kind of got her going," he said. "She was hesitant at first because she didn't want to be embarrassed. But when she finished second, she started to believe."

And she started hitting golf balls anywhere she could - and a lot of them.

Having a family of golfers has paid off. She works with her father on her short game and her drives off the tee and with her brother at escaping from treacherous sand traps.

"My brother is a great sand player," Jenna said. "I have a lot of trouble with that, but he helps me a lot. My dad helps me with every other part of my game."

Right now, Jenna's strength is her short game, particularly her putting.

On the green, she has an uncanny ability to size things up and sink a putt.

"My putting has been so good lately," she said. "It definitely helps me. My putting was the big reason why I (advanced to the district meet)."

Her father has been helping her off the tee, which is probably the weakest part of her game.

She can drive the ball between 170 and 190 yards, but she is having trouble hitting fairways.

When she plays with her father, he makes her play from the men's tees. That's more a mental device than anything, he said.

"When she plays from the women's tees in tournaments, she has more confidence that she can shoot a low score," Marty said.

The mental part of the game is something that Jenna has never had a problem with.

She said before her tee time this morning, she will close her eyes on the car ride to the course and picture the way she wants her round to go.

She will visualize her tee shots, perfect and straight, and her putts, rolling slowly to the hole and falling in.

"I'll picture hitting a good shot and making par," she said.

She'll have to make her first cut today.

If her score is within 10 strokes of the third-place finisher, she will advance to Friday's final round. If she places high enough there, she will advance to the state golf tournament.

Jenna didn't play golf for the high school team this season, but plans on joining the team next year.

Slippery Rock golf coach Merle Whitmer told Marty Rinker that he thought Jenna could qualify for the girls district meet.

"He said I should enter her and see if she can make it," Marty said.

With the way she has been playing lately, Jenna thinks she can advance to the state tournament.

"I have a positive outlook," she said. "I played a practice round (at the Riverside course) and I tried to memorize every hole."