Mikhail Ziskos is going to Graceland University on a scholarship

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East York native Mikhail Ziskos is about to embark on a four-year golf adventure that will take him to Iowa's Graceland University on a full athletic scholarship.

A Pape and Mortimer avenue area resident and Riverdale Collegiate graduate, Zizkos and Graceland University Yellowjackets head coach, Kevin Brunner, inked the four-year arrangement earlier this summer after a tour of the Iowa-based university proved a good fit for the local athlete.

"I went down to the school, talked to the coach, played some golf with him and he basically offered me the scholarship two weeks later," he said.

"They gave me the highest offer," he joked, when asked why he decided on the NCAA Division II school over a handful of other American institutions.

Coach Brunner, who went on a recruiting blitz over the summer to fill some roster gaps left as a result of some outgoing players, is expecting instant results.

"He told me he's expecting big things. He's expecting me to have an immediate impact and he said that they want me to be a top player there," he said.

Given the reputation he has already earned for staying cool under pressure, the lofty expectations aren't going to bog him down any.

"It's actually making me anxious to get down there and perform if he thinks I'm that good," he admitted.

In a media release after the signing in June, Brunner, an information technology professor, made clear the expectation of the new Canadian recruit.

'Mikhail is very focused,' the release read. 'I feel fortunate to have such a talented player coming to play on the Yellowjackets team. I look for him to be a significant contributor to our success over the next few years."

The men's golf program at the university, which also includes sophomore Adam Craig from Stouffville, last won a national title in 2006.

A natural golfer who shot his first round at age four at Dentonia's par-three starter course at Victoria Park and Danforth avenues, Zizskos now calls Don Valley Golf Course a local training ground.

He shot a 69 at the 7,100-yard, par-71 course.

"I just loved it right away," he said about taking to the sport years ago. "I just liked smacking the ball around and I was good at it."

As for what the future holds, he'll be content parlaying an international business degree out of the scholarship. "This is what I've been working towards."

After fulfilling his four-year obligation to the school he intends on going pro.

He leaves for Iowa today.