BY AAGD STAFF
April 26, 2020 —What happens when your flight is canceled for an important meeting that you must attend and your luggage gets lost? Well, much of your response (and reaction) depends on the “why” and “where” you are traveling. In the case of World Long Drive (WLD) Champion Alexis Belton (@alexisbelton25) her travel agenda that August 2019 was for competitive play in the Tennessee Big Shots. It was on the very eve of the formidable competition that Alexis found herself in this dire situation. She was without any luggage and without her much-needed golf equipment. It all seemed to have simply vanished with the canceled flight!
Thinking back over those last few hours, Alexis reminisced about having missed the cut in a Symetra Tour event earlier that same day. Things were quickly compiling for the worst. The usually positive, upbeat athlete was now “feeling a little low,” she said in a recent Golf Digest article. Knowing that she must somehow get from Rushton, La., to Kingsport, Tenn., (621-miles away) for the next-day tournament, she regained her composure at the airport and hitched a shared rental-car ride with a Golf Channel employee.
After the nearly 11-hour drive they arrived at Kingsport (at 4 a.m.). Alexis was undaunted, rearing to go, took hold of a borrowed driver (lent to her by fellow competitor Phillis Meti), stepped to the tee (wearing the same clothes from the evening before) and shot her way through qualifying and match play. Amazingly, during the final round, Alexis struck a 328-yard drive and conquered her rival, Meti. The win became her second WLD title. “My first thought was, Cool,” the mini-tour golf pro said to Golf Digest. “My second thought was, Poor Phillis.”
Alexis Belton (Instagram)
At 5-foot-10, the slim, Rushton, La., resident has indulged in many sports, from gymnastics to basketball, and was once a prominent West Monroe High School basketball star. She even served as Team Captain (2009-1010). At age 16, during her Sophmore year, golf sparked an interest and she played in her first golf tournament (2010) where she carded a dismal 119. With a focus on bettering her skills, Alexis trained at the Beverly Williams School of Golf and just three months later, scored 81 at a tournament. A month later, after attending the Jim McLean Golf Center, she broke 80, scoring a 79 at the Louisiana Women’s Junior Girls State Championship, a Top 10 finish. Alexis continued to show great progress in college and became Assistant Coach of the team.
“My parents were horrified because I passed on several full-ride basketball scholarships to concentrate on golf,” she recounted to Golf Digest. “I wasn’t very good, but golf makes you dream big.” Belton attended Texas Wesleyan University and within a year, made the Dean’s List and gained a golf scholarship. She played three years at the school, graduating with a degree in mass communications (2015). Since then she’s played on the Australian Ladies Tour and Adams Golf Tour.
Alexis Belton (Instagram)
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LPGA DREAMS
After turning pro in 2017 and experiencing limited success in small events in America and Australia, a failed attempt at the 2018 LPGA Tour Q school set her back. Entering her first-ever WLD Championship in 2017, the naturally gifted, long-hitter made it to the semifinals with a 348-yard blast against a more experienced player, Troy Mullins. Alexis had made the mistake of using only a standard-length driver in the tournament. However, in the second WLD event she entered, she used the correct equipment, a longer club, and won the 2018 Clash in the Canyon.
She earned her second career WLD tour event win in August 2019 at the Tennessee Big Shots. Pressing on for future wins, Alexis sought help from instructor Brad Pullin, who refined her classic, rhythmic swing; yet, in her seven most recent events, Alexis has failed to reach the quarterfinals only once. Her longest distance: 357 Yards (AK-CHIN SMASH IN THE SUN, 2019).
Winning the 2018 Clash in the Canyon, Alexis Belton (Twitter)
Alexis, 26, enjoys cooking, playing guitar and being close to family. She describes herself as a “freelancer for life” on her Instagram page and loves competing in long drive competitions. Her ultimate goals is to make it onto the LPGA Tour. And hopes to “…be able to prove to my hometown people and everyone else that I am more than a Long Driver,” she says in her website blog.
It seems that Alexis’ greatest challenge is ahead of her. Most certainly her perseverance, determination, and confidence could bring her LPGA dream into fruition.
