Golfer Justin Ahasic to turn pro

By Jenna Hudson

When he was six years old, Justin Ahasic's father took him out onto a golf course with a six iron and it took him 99 shots to get the ball in the hole. Now, as captain of the golf team, Ahasic can complete 18 holes of golf in 64 shots â€" a far cry from his first attempt with a club that had to be cut down so he could use it.

"It has been a great honor to coach him," Santa Clara Head Coach John Kennaday said. "He has shown a great deal of potential and is one of the most prepared players for the rigors of pro golf."

Ahasic, who plans on turning professional next week after his last college tournament, has grown mentally and physically over his five years on the golf team, summing up his learning curve in one word: maturity.

"In golf, the score doesn't always reflect what's really going on," Ahasic said. "You try to learn as much as you can from your failures, which humbles you and teaches you a lot about yourself. I had to realize that I could play awful, and as long as I know I'm better, I can come back."

This ideology has worked for him. Last year, Ahasic finished dead last in a tournament at UC Irvine, but birdied the final hole to win the same tournament this year.

That win, as well as another win earlier this year at the Santa Clara Invitational at Silver Creek, mark some of the high points of his career, but Ahasic's success extends beyond the driving range. Last year, Ahasic was the only Academic All-American in the West Coast Conference and will likely repeat again this year â€" a major accomplishment according to his coach.

When he was growing up, Ahasic played every sport, but eventually chose to stick with golf because it was the sport he was best at.

"I like to win and I like to beat people, and I beat the most people at golf," he said.

"He's a pretty gritty competitor," Kennaday said.à

After having arthroscopic surgery to repair the damage, he was forced to reinvent his entire swing, which was a difficult process since he had been compensating for the injury for so long.

"I had this image of my arm flying off with the club when I would swing it," Ahasic said. "It took a long time to get over that and start swinging properly."

Ahasic jokingly describes himself as a "model of diversity," but given his activities away from the driving range, this may not be far from the truth. An English major, Ahasic enjoys reading novels, especially those by his favorite author, John Irving. He is also writing a novel, a sort of love story, in addition to experimenting with several other short stories.

He has also taken some small parts in the upcoming Santa Clara musical, "Kiss Me Kate," singing, dancing and participating in something he has never done before, although he has taken and enjoyed several theater classes at Santa Clara.

Ahasic, a native of Aurora, Ill., is a huge Cubs fan, and one of his favorite pastimes is going to Wrigley Field all day to watch batting practice, catch balls and sit in the bleachers with his friends.à

He grew up attending Catholic schools from kindergarten through the eighth grade before attending a public high school. And although he disagrees with some of the bureaucracy in the Catholic Church, he is nevertheless a very spiritual person.

"It's just sort of like trying to find something outside of yourself," he said. "Looking at the big picture and trying to better understand yourself and make sense of everything."

Coming from a cold climate, Ahasic was attracted to sunny California, which helped influence his decision to attend Santa Clara. He also felt a great deal of confidence in Kennaday as a coach and wanted to go to a school with Division I golf.

He doesn't regret his decision at all. One of the things he likes best about the school is how all of the athletes stick together and support each other even if the student body doesn't make it to games to support the teams. One of his favorite memories was a weekend trip to Austin, Texas with some friends to support the men's soccer team in their bid to win the Final Four.

The golf team is especially close, according to the players on the team.

As far as professional golfers that Ahasic looks up to â€" there really aren't any. Although he watches games on TV, he doesn't follow it closely.

"I look at the good players to see what they're doing that I'm not doing," Ahasic said.

But regardless of some of his weaker performances, both Ahasic and his coach believe that he is in a good position for the future.

"I definitely haven't peaked yet," he said. "I'm hoping my game will really come together soon. I'm learning more about the game and I feel I can compete with anybody."

So, with Ahasic graduating and moving on to professional golf, the team will certainly feel his loss.

"The team's going to miss him," sophomore teammate Mike Nicoletti plainly said.

û Contact Jenna Hudson at (408) 554-4852 or jhudson@scu.edu.