If you think Tiger Woods is in a league of his own, well, you're probably right. However, the BYU golf team has members that had a similar beginning as Tiger did.

Esteban Calisto has the pictures to prove it. Calisto, a freshman on the Cougar Golf Team, has been playing golf since before his first birthday.

Calisto was born in Ecuador, where his father began to pick up the game of golf at the same time he was born. The youngest of three children, Calisto was lucky enough to start playing competitive golf at age 12.

"When I started playing at 12, I started playing on the junior tour around the country. That gave me the motivation to get better," Calisto said.

Calisto recalls representing his country in the Junior World Golf Tournament in Scotland. "I competed in other tournaments in South America, but I am excited to come to the United States, because obviously here is where the competition is," Calisto said.

In the 2004-05golf season, Calisto was named the player of the year in Ecuador. At the time he was only 16 years old.

After winning the Ecuador Open three times, Calisto attended the David Ledbetter Golf Academy in Florida.

"When I was 16 I went to the David Ledbetter Golf Academy in Florida and finished high school there," Calisto said.

After being heavily recruited by several golf programs, including Texas Tech, the University of Central Florida and South Carolina, Calisto chose to come to Provo to play for the Cougars.

"The environment, people, coach, the facilities. But mainly coach and the people here. Todd Miller and Bruce [Brockbank] are great coaches," Calisto said as reasons for coming to BYU.

Although only a freshman, Calisto lead the Cougars in the U.S. Colligiate Championship, taking tenth place. His performance was on par with some of the nation's top college golfers.

Calisto's ambitions don't end at BYU, where his is majoring in business management.

"I would like to stay here, finish my college career and hopefully turn pro," Calisto said.

There are only ten golf courses in Ecuador, four of which are in his home city of Quito. Currently there are no PGA Tour players from Ecuador.

"I hope to be the first," Calisto said, referring to his goal of playing on the PGA Tour.

Along with his golf skills, Calisto brings another dimension to the golf team.

"He is a really good cook," teammate and roommate Adam Tebbs said.

According to Calisto, he really enjoys the environment and people in Provo. Even though BYU is considered a cold-weather school, Calisto is grateful for the Indoor Practice Facility.

"It allows me to work on the fundamentals of my swing, which is good," he said.

Copyright Brigham Young University 15 Apr 2008