When golfers took to the links at Trump National Golf Club in Ranchos Palos Verdes recently for the K-Earth 101 Celebrity Golf Tournament to benefit the Bob Hope USO, all eyes weren’t necessarily on the celebrities. Five-year-old Long Beach resident and golf phenomenon Jaden Cantafio caused a stir among the crowd with his prowess on the links.
Not only did the youngster play particularly well during the event, but, prior to the start of the tournament, he challenged Grammy Award-winning singer Michael Bolton to a chipping contest and won.
Young Cantafio is no stranger to the spotlight. He has been the focus of several local television news programs and graced the cover of prominent Southern California golf magazine Southland Golf.
Cantafio’s golfing interest started at the age of two. His father, Tony Cantafio, had gone to a sporting goods store to stock up on fishing supplies. While in the store, the young Cantafio noticed patrons swinging golf clubs in the practice cage across the store. He begged his dad to let him watch and that viewing was the beginning of his fascination with the game. Cantafio picked up an iron and would not leave the store until his dad bought it for him.
Tony then took Cantafio to the driving range to see what he could do. To his amazement, Cantafio took a full swing at the ball, making contact on the first try. From that point, trips to the driving range were the norm and, by the time Cantafio was two and a half, he had a full set of metal clubs just his size.
To help him along, Tony took his son to golf pro Chris Blackman at El Dorado Golf Course. After watching Cantafio play, Blackman mentioned how his coordination and ability at two and a half were better than most five to seven year olds he had mentored.
He then referred Cantafio to another golf teacher, Dana Dahlquist at Heartwell Golf Course, and they started to prepare him to compete against other golfers in tournaments. The only problem was there were no organizations that allowed someone of Cantafio’s age to participate.
As he improved during the next few months, Cantafio became a celebrity on the golf course and the local news. Repeatedly being touted as the “next Tiger Woods,” he was filmed and interviewed on three major networks in the Los Angeles area. He was also approached by the talk show hosts of several nationally televised shows. All this was happening before Cantafio could even spell his own name or enter a golf tournament.
Finally, during the summer that he turned four, Cantafio was able to enter some local and statewide golf tournaments with US Kids Golf.
Upon returning to Long Beach, Cantafio played in some local tournaments, again put on by US Kids Golf. At the last competition in Chino Hills, Cantafio took first place in the four-and-under division and fifth place in the seven-and-under. In the seven tournaments he entered over the summer, Cantafio brought home five medals to honor his achievements.
He loves the game and plays nearly every day, hitting 150 balls at the driving range or playing a round of golf. While other children are watching cartoons, Cantafio’s favorite is The Golf Channel.
For more information, visit www.jadencantafio.com.
