ELON, N.C. – Pedro Rabadan and Juan Callejo Ropero are upperclassmen anchors on the Elon University men’s golf team. Their confidence on the course, buoyed by one another, dates back over a decade, to when the two practiced and competed together as junior golfers in Madrid, Spain.
As prepubescent golfers in the heart of the Spanish capital, the two overlapped under the umbrella of the Madrid Golf Federation. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, no matter the time of year, a group of golfers came together to practice under the top coaches in Madrid.
“We have a lot of good golfers who came from our program,” Callejo Ropero said. “They’re all around the country playing at schools like Texas A&M and Arizona State. We have lots of golfers in America.”
While across the pond, the two stacked up impressive accomplishments. Rabadan joined the Phoenix as the second-ranked golfer in Madrid and the seventh-ranked under-18 player in Spain. Callejo Ropero owns amateur several titles from his days in Spain, including the 2019 Canary Amateur and the 2018 Under-18 Amateur Madrid Open.
Their success hasn’t dwindled since their days as kids. Visiting Spain in the summer of 2022, Callejo Ropero took home the 2022 Men’s Madrid Open, and he and Rabadan finished third and sixth, respectively, in the Under-25 tournament the week before.
“I’ve seen him win, he’s seen me win. I shoot an 85 and he shoots a 500 and we’re still sleeping together in the hotel week after week,” Callejo Ropero laughed. “We’ve seen each other grow up as golfers and as people.”
Though Callejo Ropero’s collegiate golf career began at the College for International Studies in Madrid, he always remained close with his stateside childhood golf buddies. One close friend, a neighbor from his youth who he considers a brother, plays at James Madison University. He gave his best to try and bring Callejo Ropero to JMU, but his sights were set on Rabadan and Elon.
“I would get a lot of feedback from Pedro,” Callejo Ropero said. “I’d ask, ‘How’s Elon, how’s the coach, how’s the team?’”
“I came a year before he did, but we were with the same scholarship agency, so we both talked to Elon,” Rabadan added. “After I was here, coach [Don Hill] was talking to Juan, and a year or two later, he made it.”
Their relationship has remained intensely important to them, both in competition and in practice.
“We’ve always been competing together and traveling all around Spain, so it’s pretty common for us just to go to the course and compete against each other,” Callejo Ropero said.
“But it’s a little bit different now that we’re here together all the time,” Rabadan added. “We play practice rounds together. We’re even closer than we were before.”
Though the two have found frequent success in competition – the Phoenix has finished in the top two in four tournaments already this season – adjusting to life in America was a challenge.
“Pedro was really helpful for me, because coming as a freshman from Spain, you have no clue what it’s going to be like,” Callejo Ropero said. “He really helped me through the process of adopting the culture and getting used to life, and then on the course, it really helps to know someone is there. Even if the golf is not going well, you have someone.”
Spanish golf legends like Sergio Garcia, Jon Rahm, Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal provide inspiration for the men’s pride in competing in America. Though the men are surrounded by Americans, they’ve got a firm grip on their heritage.
“It doesn’t make us feel any different,” Rabadan said. “If you go into our place, there’s a Spanish flag in the middle of the living room.”
“And we’ve got the Spanish hands,” Callejo Ropero said.
What are Spanish hands?
“We’ll end up in bad situations and get creative to make pars,” Rabadan said with a smile. “We’re pretty good at chipping.”
Above all else, Rabadan and Callejo Ropero recognize the importance of supporting each other, regardless of their individual performance.
“If he’s playing after me or I’m playing after him, I’ll be the first one to be there when I’m done with my round. I’m the first to celebrate him,” Rabadan said.
'Rising Phoenix' is a new student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on Twitter (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Jacob Kisamore at jkisamore@elon.edu.