by Jim Young

In his four-year USF career, Sebastian Crookall-Nixon has played in 38 of the team's 39 tournaments dating back to his freshman season of 2012-13. The Dons' ironman will make his 34th consecutive start this weekend when USF joins the field at The Goodwin, which gets underway on Friday at Stanford Golf Course.
 
A native of Cumbria, England, Crookall-Nixon has led the Dons in scoring average each of the last two seasons and has recorded 10 career top-10 finishes, including two this season at the Saint Mary's (7th) and Wyoming Southern Dunes (t-5) Invitationals. He was a first team All-West Coast Conference selection as a sophomore and junior and is a good bet for a three-peat this year.
 
Accolades aside, perhaps the most incredible feat in Crookall-Nixon's USF career is that it began in the first place.
 
Shortly after signing his letter of intent to attend USF on a golf scholarship, he was involved in a near fatal car accident in his native England that left him with a broken left collarbone and right wrist, along with damage to his back and neck, injuries which still gives him trouble to this day. So severe were his injuries he needed to seek special permission for a writer to assist him with the A level exams necessary to gain NCAA acceptance.
 
Following a long and painful rehabilitation process, Crookall-Nixon made his way to San Francisco and managed to qualify for the team's first tournament of the 2012 fall season. He tied for 49th place at the Golfweek Conference Challenge with a 14-over par score of 230 and didn't finish higher than 40th in the next three events. Though his progress wasn't necessarily reflective by his early scores, he gained more confidence physically with each passing round, especially the 36-hole grinders reserved for the first day of each tournament.
 
In USF's fifth tournament of the 2012 fall season, Crookall-Nixon turned in a breakthrough round by firing a school-record tying 8-under par 63 at the Alister Mackenzie Invitational held at the Meadow Club in Fairfax. He followed with rounds of 73 and 69 to tie for seventh in the event and secured the first of three top-10 finishes on the year.
 
The comeback was complete and Seb was on his way.
 
The fastidious, dry-witted Englishman is a self-described "neat freak" whose older sisters swam collegiately at Michigan State and Boston University. With the encouragement of his mother, he picked up golf at the age of 7 and showed enough promise to ditch any plans of following his sisters in the pool or on the soccer pitch.
 
He has adopted the Golden State Warriors and San Francisco Giants but as native of northwest England, still holds Manchester United football club close to his heart.
 
He also holds the distinction of having the longest name of all USF's student-athletes, but prefers the shorter, one-name moniker of Seb.
 
"Know Your Dons" is an on-going feature on USFDons.com designed to personalize the student-athletes of the University of San Francisco. From Cumbria, England, meet Sebastian Crookall-Nixon.
 
Student Life
Favorite spot on campus: John Lo Schiavo Center for Science and Innovation or the Under Caf. I love hanging out there when I'm on campus.
Favorite class: Badminton. We had an awesome professor and played every week with a few athletes, so naturally it was always very competitive but we had a blast.
Hardest class: Probably my theology class. I still no idea what we did in that class but I passed it (haha).
Favorite place to study on campus: Due to my four year committed relationship I've had with study hall you can always find me in the athletic building or in the library.
Balancing the demands of school and your sport:? It's always tough, especially with golf. We're out on the course for so long so being disciplined is vital. After a while it just becomes a habit and you learn to deal with the stresses.
What experience made the biggest impact on you in the classroom? The knowledge that so many of my professors have, everything feels like a blur right now but I'm sure after graduation and everything sinks in I'll have a greater appreciation for it all.
The best thing about USF is: I go to school in the best city in the world. It doesn't get much better than that.
 
Pop Culture
Favorite TV show: Suits or House of Cards
Favorite movie: Tough one, a classic go to for me is definitely Top Gun. Something more modern, I'd have to say The Wolf of Wall Street.
Last book you read: Jonny: My Autobiography.
Favorite singer or band: Kygo
What's on your iPOD: Absolutely everything except Skrillex and Death Metal.
 
Team
Top skill: Scrambling
One thing you are always working on: Consistency
One skill of one of your teammates you wish you had: Hitting the driver like Henry Chung.
Pre­game rituals or superstitions before events: Superstitions I'll keep those to myself but before rounds I usually put the IPod on and jam out to something while I'm warming up.
Funniest teammate: Probably Raymart Tolentino. He's the silent assassin.
Favorite coach saying: Coach Kennedy, when I asked him if he wanted to caddy for me as a pro. His response was "Well it's a nice offer but 10% of nothing is still nothing Seb."
Favorite bonding moment with your team: We always have a great time on our team retreat down in San Diego at the beginning of each year.
 
Sports
Sports teams I follow: Golden State Warriors, San Francisco Giants and Manchester United
Favorite athlete: Adam Scott
Favorite athletic memory: Representing Great Britain & Ireland vs Europe in the Jacques L'Eglise Trophy
Biggest sports thrill: Shooting 59 at a course where I'm a member at back home.
My second ­best sport:Swimming or soccer
Sport I'm the worst at: Javelin. I tried it so many times in high school and couldn't get the hang of it at all. It's a lot harder than it looks.
Earliest sports memory: Winning my club swimming race and breaking county records.
First sport you ever played: Swimming, my whole family was a huge swimming family. Both of my sisters were swimmers, Emily went to Michigan State and Boston and swam in three Commonwealth Games and Charlie nearly joined Emily in Australia for the Commonwealths. So naturally I was thrown into swimming.
 
Golf
Home course: Silloth on Solway Golf Club in England.
Favorite course: Meadow Club in Fairfax or Sage Valley just outside of Augusta, Georgia.
Course you'd most like to play: Augusta National
Introduction to golf: My mum suggested to my dad he take me up to our local golf club to try when I was 7. I seemed to pick it up fairly naturally he said and played it recreationally until I was 12. I decided to quit swimming then and to make golf my main focus. The rest is history!
Dream foursome: Myself, Emma Watson, Mila Kunis and Will Smith.
Your perfect golf getaway: South Africa, I love golf out there. The weather is always perfect and it's amazing to be walking down the fairway with Zebras and other wild animals.
Favorite golfer: Adam Scott
One part of your game you are always working on: Putting and chipping
Constant swing thought: Rhythm and keep it short.
Favorite major tournament to watch: The Masters - hands down.
Best tip for the weekend golfer: Practice putting and chipping religiously. It feels good to scramble 3's and 4's from being in the woods and take the money from your buddies. They'll hate it.
 
Food and Travel
Favorite meal: Beef lasagne with garlic bread and Caesar salad.
Favorite ethnic cuisine: Italian - they always do it best.
Favorite snack food: PB&J with a banana
Guilty pleasure: Twinkies
Least favorite food: Mushrooms
If I had to cook all of my meals, I'd survive on: Shepherd's Pie or enchiladas
Who is the best cook on the team: Mathias Wentjarvi is pretty handy in the kitchen, but got to mention Max Alcorn for his creativity (salmon and waffles with a yogurt).
If stranded on an island, what would you bring with you: A boat and food.
Most interesting place you've ever visited: Zambia (My sister lives there)
Place you'd most like to visit someday: Arctic or Antarctica
Favorite place in San Francisco: Golden Gate Park
Describe your perfect day in San Francisco: Early morning workout, practice and play 18 holes, then some wine and dinner with my girlfriend and friends down in North Beach.
 
This and That
Hobbies: I'm a huge Netflixer, sports of any kind, reading.
Pick three words to describe yourself: Stubborn, professional and neat freak.
Early riser or night owl: Early riser for sure. I'm awake around 5:30-­5:45 a.m.
Something people would be surprised to know about me: I've got short arms compared to height. I got nicknamed T­Rex at college.
Person I'd most like to meet: Morgan Freeman
Talent I wish I had: Being able to play the guitar or sing would be pretty cool.
Role models: Adam Scott and my eldest sister Emily. I've never known someone who works as hard as she does.
My parents were right when they said: There are no shortcuts in life. You want something worthwhile, you work your tail off and earn it.
Moment in my life I'll always remember: Near fatal car accident I was in back in 2012. Those things forever change you.
Things I collect: Movies and putters
In 10 years, I'd like to be: Top 10 in the world as professional golfer hunting down the No. 1 spot.
If I could trade places with someone for a day, it would be: Ryan Reynolds.
Three people from history you'd like to have dinner with: Julius Caesar, Winston Churchill and Einstein
Pet peeves: Poor preparation and untidiness.
Cats or dogs: Cats, but I love dogs too.
Best advice you've ever received: Be careful who you dump on on the way up the ladder of success, because they'll be waiting for you on the way back down if things start going wrong (my dad).
Describe your perfect day: Maybe a little sleep in, although I can only sleep in until 8 a.m. My body just won't let me sleep any longer. Have a nice workout to get the day going and then practice and play 18 holes with my buddies. Come back chill out watch some Netflix order a pizza and have a beer with my friends.
Tell us about your hometown: It's actually a really nice town. Very small and remote, tucked up in the mountains in the northwest of England. We have amazing views and loads of lakes, which are always fun to swim in when the sun shines and it's warm. It's pretty small but it's home and nothing changes whenever I go back.
Plans following graduation: I'm planning to pursue a professional playing career in the United States. I'm currently looking for financial backers so I many work on my Visa for a while to save money until I find some help, but I definitely plan on turning pro and trying to make a career out of it. If I have to go home, so be it, but I know I'll eventually work my way back across to the United States. I love it too much over here.
 
Describe the student-­athlete experience at USF
Hands down USF has created a life changing experience for me. Not only has it allowed to get a first class degree but to develop myself as an athlete. I've had four of the best years of my life living in the greatest city in the world with more opportunities than I ever thought were possible. I've met great people at USF and outside of USF that hopefully I can stay connected with for a lifetime. I've never come back to the city and not wanted to be here. Being a student­-athlete is without a doubt one of the hardest things you'll have to do growing up, but if you can learn to manage your studies, your sport and your social life successfully, then I fully believe you'll be incredibly successful in the real world. Go Dons!
 
A 1985 USF graduate, Jim Young returned to his alma mater in October of 2012 as associate athletic director for communications. He previously headed up communication departments at Santa Clara University, the Oakland A's and Stanford.