UTSA golfer's big drives draw crowds, victory

By Jennifer Bellis
San Antonio Express-News
Web Posted : 10/16/2003 12:00 AM

When UTSA golfer John Elizondo steps to the tee, people can't resist stopping to watch him.

Because Elizondo stands barely 5-foot-7 and weighs just over 120 pounds, some find it hard to imagine his drives traveling very far.
"People are surprised when I hit my tee shot," Elizondo said.
Elizondo's drives routinely surpass 300 yards with ease. Routinely, the former Brackenridge standout discovers that he has attracted a gallery.
"People stop to watch him hit balls and they are wowed," UTSA coach Chris Donielson said. "He can hit consistently over 300. He has the hand speed and the strength."
Elizondo, a sophomore, has emerged as one of the top talents for UTSA, which already has won two of its four tournaments this fall. On Tuesday, he won the SFA-Southern Chrysler Crown Colony Classic at Crown Colony Country Club in Lufkin. Elizondo secured his first collegiate victory on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff. Last season, Elizondo finished third at the Southland Conference Golf Championship, setting the course record with a final-round 65 on the
7,003-yard, par-71 Canebrake Golf Club course in Hattiesburg, Miss. When Elizondo first picked up a club, the San Antonio native knew nothing about the sport. His middle school basketball coach talked him into trying it, mostly to fill out the roster. Elizondo purchased his first set of clubs from a pawnshop. And when he stepped on the course for the first time at age 13, he said it was a natural fit.
"It was a fluke thing for me," Elizondo said. "I started getting really good at it really fast. I just loved it. It was addicting."
At first, Elizondo's long game came up short because of his stature. So, Elizondo tuned up his chipping and putting, which helped him win in the playoff earlier this week. Eventually, he improved his technique and learned to drive it far.
"My short game has saved me from everywhere," he said.
But more importantly, Elizondo needed to take care of the mental aspect, and capturing an individual title this week did a lot for that part of his game.
"It feels good to get over the hump," Elizondo said. "I made a few mistakes down the stretch, but I stayed tough coming in."
Elizondo was named the San Antonio Junior Golfer Association Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002 and the Express-News Player of the Year in 2002, attracting the attention of college coaches, including UTSA. Growing up on the South Side, Elizondo considered the campus on the Northwest Side far enough from home, yet still close. And the courses on which the Roadrunners routinely practice, such as La Cantera, were the courses Elizondo dreamed of playing. He had spent much of his playing time at the various municipal courses around the city.
"We get to play all the best courses in the area," Elizondo said. "I always thought it would be awesome to go to those places. Now I get to practice there. It's a big step up for me."
It was seemingly the right step. Donielson, who has coached at the collegiate level since 1992 and played at Iowa State, now touts Elizondo as the best college player he's been around. "I would take 100 of him," Donielson said, "or at least three more. If we had more like him, we would be winning all kinds of things."

jbellis@express-news.net