Live Oak and Gavilan grad John Ellis is getting closer to his
dream after recently winning two events on the Canadian Tour
Morgan Hill
John Ellis’ hands were shaking, his mind racing, his eyes beginning to water under the magnitude of the situation.
It was a moment he knew was coming, but nothing could prepare him for it.
There are, after all, no practice rounds for marriage proposals.
Here was Ellis, the sure-handed front-runner in the Canadian Tour Order of Merit, kneeling on the plush carpet of a stretch limousine, ready to pop the big question to his belle and best friend, Shannon Smartt. Ellis had never been more terrified.
This was before his riveting 6-foot putt to force a playoff at the April 20 Stockton Sports Commission Classic. This was before his 7-footer on No. 18 last weekend to win the Corona Mazatlan PGA Championship.
This was real pressure.
“I was a lot more nervous for that,” Ellis said before Friday’s Gavilan College Educational Foundation charity tournament at Coyote Creek Golf Club. “After all these years of dating her, I figured there’s a 99.99-percent chance she’s going to say ‘yes,’ but there’s still doubt. If the putt doesn’t go in, so be it.”
Like his two clutch shots, Ellis’ proposal found nothing but cup. He and Smartt were engaged April 4, setting the stage for one of the most incredible months of Ellis’ life. Since that day, the Live Oak High School and Gavilan College product has known only victory. He birdied the first playoff hole to beat Tommy Barber for first place in Stockton, then overcame a brief lapse to edge Wes Heffernan for the Mexican Championship, finishing at 15-under par.
The wins gave long-awaited satisfaction to the chivalrous 28-year-old, who came agonizingly close to his first tour victories in 2007 – both times in his own backyard. Ellis settled for second place at the San Jose International and Northern California Classic.
“Obviously, winning is a joy,” he said. “But winning in the fashion I did – that adds to it … It’s something special.”
Ellis admits his chances were thin during both events. At Stockton, he trailed by two strokes after the 17th hole and faced a challenging par-5 18th with water to the left and right of the fairway. Barber’s tee shot landed in the drink, leaving the door open for Ellis.
“I knew if I birdied the 18th I’d force a playoff. I was fortunate to do that and to birdie the playoff hole,” said Ellis, who finished the tournament at 16-under 272. “I’d been so close to winning before. It was a good feeling. It was incredible.”
The euphoria didn’t go to his head at Mazatlan nor did his five-stroke lead after the first day. Ellis cruised through the opening three rounds but found himself at the opposite end of the spectrum midway through the fourth. He began the final round with a four-stroke lead and was tied with Heffernan by the turn.
“Wes was 8-under through 14 holes, so it was remarkable he caught me,” Ellis said. “It put more pressure on me. I knew if I shot 3- or 4-under I probably could not get caught. I got off to a good start but didn’t have my best stuff, so I had to hang in there by the end and give myself a chance.”
Ellis bogeyed the 16th to go down by one but, like at Stockton, he capitalized on an opponent’s mistake on No. 18. Heffernan bogeyed the final hole, and Ellis sank his 7-footer after a crisp approach shot, becoming the Canadian Tour’s first wire-to-wire winner in five years.
“The win in Stockton really helped my confidence,” Ellis said. “After that 6-footer at Stockton, I had a 7-footer in front of me and thought, ‘I made this putt last week to win.’ It helps when you’ve already won something – it takes away the pressure. Looking back, it feels pretty gratifying.”
Gratifying, yes, but certainly not for long – not when you consider the big picture as Ellis often does. He took the next step in his relationship with Smartt and is ready to do the same with golf.
Now, more than ever, Ellis wants to join the PGA Tour.
“It’s frustrating at this point because I know I can play at the highest level, and it just hasn’t happened yet,” he said. “I’m playing some of the best golf I’ve ever played. I’m ready for the PGA. The Canadian Tour is the closest thing to playing on the PGA Tour. It’s graduated so many players into it.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to play events on the PGA Tour, and there’s nothing different but the money and the galleries.”
With his two wins and eighth-place finish at the Spring Invitational, Ellis’ confidence has soared much like his position on the Canadian Tour’s Order of Merit. He likely will earn an invite to the Nationwide Tour’s Wayne Gretzky Classic, plus exemption to the Canadian Open, a PGA Tour event, if he holds one of the top two money spots. Ellis can pad his resume with a strong finish in the Nationwide Tour standings. The top-100 players get their Nationwide card, a major stepping stone.
Ellis could then take one of many roads to the PGA Tour. The quickest is through qualifying school, the annual proving ground for the world’s biggest tours. An allotted number of players win tour membership for the following season if they master the tour’s three to four tournaments, or stages, of qualifying school. Most professional golfers never do.
“People don’t realize how hard it is to make the PGA,” said Ellis, who’s come close to conquering the PGA Tour’s second stage. “No matter how good you are it still takes a little luck.
“At this point, I still feel like I’m playing with this thing on the back of my mind. I haven’t won much, I haven’t done this, I haven’t done that, I haven’t gotten past the second stage of ‘Q-School.’ I feel like I’m finally starting to answer some questions now as I get better.”
Ellis’ stop in Silicon Valley last weekend was brief. He travels back to Mexico next week for the Iberostar Riviera Maya Open and La Loma San Luis Potosi Open, starting May 12 and May 19, respectively. His next PGA Tour Q-School Stage 1 begins Oct. 21 at Hollister’s San Juan Oaks Golf Club, site of Ellis’ last two opening stages.
“It’s an exciting time for me right now,” Ellis said. “Back at Live Oak and when I was in college, I always hoped to have this kind of success. I just hoped it would come sooner. I’m already waiting for bigger things.”
