MCALLEN – Swing after swing after swing.

Papito Gonzalez has taken thousands of swings.

When he was just nine years old, Gonzalez made his first hole-in-one at Treasure Hills Golf Club in Harlingen.

Maybe that’s why it’s no surprise the McAllen Memorial grad wound up playing collegiately at the University of Houston.

“The University of Houston has 16 national championships,” said Gonzalez. “That’s the most in the country. It’s cool to be part of that legacy.”

As a sophomore, Gonzalez was part of a Cougar team that made the NCAA Championships. It was one of the many highlights for Gonzalez during his five-year career in Houston.

“I got to travel to some cool places,” said Gonzalez. “I got to play golf in a bunch of different states. I got to go to Canada to play. I got to go to Mexico. I’m very blessed to be in the position I’m in right now.”

After graduating recently, Gonzalez officially became a professional golfer. He played in his first tourney just two weeks ago in Kansas.

“I think that’s the biggest difference for me,” said Gonzalez. “I get a check at the of the week instead of a high five. The next couple of months I’m just going to play some state opens and an Adams Tour events. I’ve got an event in Iowa and then an event in California.”

In September, Gonzalez plans to attend qualifying school overseas where he hopes to catch on with the European Tour. If that goes well, he’ll set his sights on the ultimate dream of reaching the PGA.

“I’m excited for the whole journey and the process of going through mini-tours and grinding it all out,” said Gonzalez. “Hopefully I can look back and see that it all paid off and I’ll be on the PGA Tour.”