When Casey Martin first watched Daniel Miernicki play as a high school student, he closed
his eyes.
A pure golf swing, after all, needs not be seen. Martin only needed to hear the powerful swoosh of club, followed closely by that satisfying “TWOCK” sound, to know that he had a special player on his hands.
Years later, Martin’s intuition has paid off. A sophomore at the University now, Miernicki has already made a name for himself. Along with fellow golf phenom Eugene Wong, he has led the Ducks to a No. 1 ranking in the nation. An individual winner of two tournaments this year, he was named first-team All Pac-10 last week.
At 6 feet 4 inches, Miernicki may not look the part. But make no mistake; golf has always been part of his DNA.
Born in Philadelphia, Pa., Miernicki and his family eventually moved to Santee, Calif. He was just 6 years old when he first picked up a golf club, and he was hooked from the start.
It helped that his father was an expert golfer and taught the game for a living at a nearby course in San Diego. In essence, Miernicki had both a father and swing coach rolled into one.
“He’s a teaching professional,” Miernicki said. “So that’s pretty much where I’ve acquired my love for the game.”
He was playing in tournaments by the age of eight, and his passion for the game only grew from there. Still, golf was hardly his only hobby. Football and basketball were also important to Miernicki, and he continued to play both through high school.
“I’ve always loved basketball,” Miernicki said. “That was probably my first sporting love, but I kind of had a better future in golf than basketball.”
Much to the relief of golf coaches across the country, Miernicki decided to focus on golf. That was when Martin entered the picture.
With his own career at Oregon in its early stages, Martin set off to watch the U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifier at Stanford. It was there that a friend pointed him in Miernicki’s direction.
Coincidently, Miernicki was caddying for a friend, not playing.
 
“They were actually playing together in a practice round,” Martin said. “And I watched him, I was very intrigued by him … that was the first time I had ever heard of him.
Martin continued to watch Miernicki before a stroke of luck hit. Miernicki’s father contacted Martin to express his son’s interest in Oregon. From there, Martin doubled his efforts to lure the Southern California native to the Great Northwest. The two began exchanging text messages, and in the summer before his senior year, Miernicki finally committed to Oregon.
“I heard great things about (Martin),” Miernicki said. “And just playing on the West Coast in the Pac-10 was what I really wanted to do.”
It didn’t take long for Miernicki to realize that college golf was an entirely different animal.
“He didn’t play a ton for us in the fall,” Martin said. “Took him awhile for adjustment and learning. But about midseason last year he really kicked in, and when he kicked in he never looked back.”
Now, after soaring through a breakout sophomore season, those struggles seem like a
distant memory.
According to his teammates, Miernicki’s game has remained mostly unchanged. What has gone through the most transformation is his confidence.
“He’s always been this good,” sophomore Andrew Vijarro said. “I think maybe just his confidence has changed. He knows he’s just as good as anyone else, where maybe last year he had some doubts about it.”
The Ducks will be relying on Miernicki’s prodigious talents in next week’s NCAA regional, in which they have earned a top seed. For now, Martin is content to enjoy coaching such a talented player.
“Looking back, I was very, very fortunate that (my friend) had told me about him,” Martin said. “That I got to see him, that his dad called, and that I was able to build a relationship with him, because he’s a special player and a special kid.”
Some things, as it turns out, are just meant to be.
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