Hoglund to play golf for Lobos

Baylor golf coach Gary Partrick once invited Sofia Hoglund on a trip to the Bear Trace at Harrison Bay.

But he'd be leaving at 6:30 in the morning, he told her, and she wouldn't be playing in his group because his standard foursome would all be present. She could hit balls, chip and putt while he played -- all on the practice range.

"No way I thought she'd show up to catch a ride," Partrick said. "I never thought she'd show. But I walked out the door and there she stood.

"I think we played 36 holes that day. And she just practiced the whole time."

With such an approach, Hoglund recently signed scholarship papers from the University of New Mexico.

Baylor's Keith Mitchell signed with Georgia. His commitment had been reported long before.

"I wanted something new, and I knew that New Mexico was going to be a different culture," said Hoglund, a native of Finland. "I thought I needed something new for my college experience, so that was perfect."

Hoglund chose playing for the Lobos instead of remaining in the Southeast at Vanderbilt or Ole Miss or other schools that pursued here.

"That is why she came here, to get her college education, and she was going to get it through golf," Partrick said. "Nothing was going to deter that. She's very goal-oriented, and that was her primary goal for coming here."

Mitchell committed to Georgia early in the year and rebuffed offers that came from Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia Tech and North Carolina, which finished as a close second in his eyes.

"I thought I was going to spell my name wrong on the papers, I was so nervous," Mitchell said. "It was good to get it over with. I'm glad that it's officially official."

Partrick knew Mitchell would earn a golf scholarship when he first saw him as a sixth-grader.

"He's been on this path for a long time," Partrick said. "It's been fun watching him grow up. It was just a matter of time."