OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 30, 2020) – With the holiday season getting closer, choosing the perfect gift preoccupies the mind of many individuals.
 
For Oklahoma Christian golfer Alejandro Armijo, a simple gift ignited a passion in his life, which lead to current successes and, now, lifelong dreams.
 
"My uncle gave me a plastic set of golf clubs for either Christmas or my birthday and from that day on it just stuck," Armijo said.
 
Armijo – a junior academically but a sophomore athletically – grew up in Rio Rancho, N.M., and started golfing at the age of four, before becoming competitive at the age of seven.
 
"I love golfing, because I'm a perfectionist and golf is a game of imperfection," Armijo said. "You can never be perfect at golf and no matter how much you hate it, at times, you always come back to it. Plus, I like to think I'm decent at it and that's why I also enjoy it. I love golf because it's my passion."
 
Armijo says he's "decent."
 
When he was just 7, he won a golf tournament by two shots, shooting a 28 and seven under par. At Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho, his team won three state championships and he placed third individually one year while earning All-State honors three out of four years. As a freshman at Oregon Tech, Armijo won the Oregon Tech Spring Invite.
 
According to OC men's golf coach David Lynn, Armijo plays more than just "decent" golf.
 
"Alejandro has some very special qualities as a player," Lynn said. "In his first year, he won a college tournament, which is very difficult to do.  This also gave me some insight into his potential. (He) is successful, because he gives 100 percent every day. Workouts, practice, qualifying and tournaments, he does everything he can to be successful."
 
While Armijo decided to pursue golf after high school because of his intense passion for the game, he also experienced success as a runner in the prep ranks. In high school, he won two state championships in track and claimed the title of Metro Championship Champion. He also played basketball in high school.
 
Lynn said Armijo's ability to not only play, but excel at, multiple sports makes him unique among golfers.
 
"What really set him apart is his competitive spirit," Lynn said. "He was a multi-sport athlete in high school and lives to compete, which was very evident in talking with him and is something I look for in players."
 
During Armijo's senior season of high school, he got involved in the recruiting process and, thanks to his high school coach Bill Harvey, he found a place to play at Oregon Tech.
 
After spending one year at Oregon Tech, Armijo decided he wanted to transfer and make a change.
 
"I needed to move somewhere new that fit me better," Armijo said. "I wanted to take my game to the next level and just felt that I needed to make a change for that to happen."
 
Armijo said he emailed the top 20 NCAA Division II teams and the top 50 Division I teams. Sitting in the top 10 of those Division II teams is Oklahoma Christian, which Armijo felt fit him perfectly.
 
"Coach Lynn needed one more guy and he found me late," Armijo said. "It was just a perfect fit period. I just had a gut feeling and went with it. I haven't regretted my decision since. Then, a great achievement was when I took it upon myself to transfer and I found Oklahoma Christian, which is one of the best, if not the best, golf program in the country for Division II."
 
Lynn said when he contacted Armijo he knew OC would be the perfect place to equip him with the skills and tools he needed to achieve his dream of becoming a professional golfer.
 
"After talking with Alejandro, initially I felt an environment like Oklahoma Christian golf would help him reach his potential," Lynn said. "I also felt he could really help our team achieve its goals."
 
In 2019-20, his first season with the Eagles, Armijo posted four top-10 tournament finishes and received All-Lone Star Conference honorable mention recognition. With the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the nation, his second golf season as an Eagle brough unexpected challenges.
 
Despite the difficulty and being able to play in fewer tournaments during the fall season, Armijo said the time has been beneficial for the team to practice more on specific skills and to wholly improve their game.
 
"Now that we have more free time on our hands, we have extra time to be able to work out and practice when we want and practice efficiently," Armijo said. "Of course, the amount of tournaments we play got cut down and we had to make a whole new schedule for the fall, but we were still able to play (some) tournaments."
 
Armijo currently is pursuing a degree in Sports Management and dreams of being a professional golfer in the future.
 
"My goals are to become one of the best players in the world, to live out my dream of being a professional golfer and just to play golf for the rest of my life for fun and for a living," Armijo said.