His ordeal is well-known throughout the university and Ames. Now, the nation will get to know Tyler Swanson, a sophomore on the ISU men’s golf team.

USA Network has announced they will broadcast a special feature about him, airing on their PGA Tour golf show Sunday at 10 a.m.

Swanson, from Clinton, and teammate Curtis Foster, a junior from Independence, were injured in May 2004 in a car accident on Interstate 80. Foster suffered a broken vertebrae, and Swanson sustained severe head trauma. A coma was induced medically, and he underwent surgery to remove the front-right part of his skull to allow his brain room to swell. He came out of the coma three weeks later and has been on the road to recovery ever since.

Swanson said USA Network found out about his accident from his Web site, www.tylerswanson.com, and they called his uncle who called him. He said the camera crews came to Ames during Finals Week to follow him around campus before returning with him to Clinton for interviews.

“It was weird to have them following me around, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it,” he said. “I felt kind of sorry for them since it was just me. It wasn’t that big of a story, but they thought so.”

His family, his coach and his teammates were all interviewed for the piece, and Swanson said the whole process took three or four days. Jay Horton, head golf coach, said he would have liked the story to focus on Swanson’s good golf game.

“Seeing how he made the cut at the John Deere Classic, I would like to have seen the story be about how well he plays,” Horton said. “But after the accident, of course, that’s the story.”

Swanson made the cut for the 2003 John Deere Classic, the first amateur to do so since 1971.

“It’s a nice program and they do a good job,” Horton said. “I’m anxious to see how the story comes out.”

Foster was also interviewed for the piece, but he has no ill feelings about not being a bigger part of the story.

“I don’t feel cheated about not being a bigger part,” he said. “It was a team effort, and everyone that supported him got interviewed.”

Swanson said he probably won’t get a copy of the special segment before USA airs it on Sunday, and he said he doesn’t really care.

“I doubt they are going to send me a copy,” he said. “It hasn’t hit home yet. As of right now, I’m just thinking it’s not that big of a deal.”

Foster hopes everyone watches the show.

“I think it’s going to be a good story for people to watch,” he said. “It’s one of those inspirational-type stories. He deserves credit for how hard he’s worked.”