DATE: Tuesday, September 16, 1997           TAG: 9709160434

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C6   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   42 lines

BOOKER BASEBALL'S LOSS IS A BIG GAIN FOR GOLF

Golf makes Jonathan Elliott mad.

But it could also make the Booker T. Washington senior a district champion in a sport he didn't pick up until two seasons ago.

Elliott has medaled in all three of the Eastern District's meets this season, including shooting 77 to beat league favorite Maury. And if he can keep his temper in check, he could be the Bookers' first district golf champion since 1984.

``My temper is real bad; it's embarrassing,'' says Elliott, a stocky guy whose T-shirt reads ``Metallica.'' ``When I shot the 81 against Norcom, the last few holes I was just ready to go home.''

Even the act of playing golf rubs Elliott the wrong way. He was a baseball player when golf coach Steve Gray, also the Bookers' baseball coach, went recruiting players.

``Now golf is all I think about,'' Elliott says with a good-natured grumble. ``I can't even get to sleep because I think, `Why did I play so bad?' ''

Elliott has since abandoned baseball because he says it messes with his swing. A couple of weeks ago he was out playing Wiffle ball and even that doesn't jibe with golf. So that's out, too.

``He's dedicated, one of the few guys who practices at home,'' Gray says. ``His attitude is what has really made the difference this season.''

Admittedly more serious, Elliott wants to improve on his seventh-place finish in the region last fall. The district meet is in two weeks at Ocean View and Sleepy Hole. Putting two good rounds together concerns Elliott, but he knows he can't let his temper cancel his chances.

``Ocean View is a problem for me because the course is in real bad shape; I let that get to me,'' he says. ``A lot of times I let the conditions get to me, and then I'll start playing bad and let that get to me, too. I'm a streaky player, so who knows? But it would be pretty nice to do it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Booker T. Washington senior Jonathan Elliott could become the

Bookers' first district golf champion since 1984.

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