Esteban Toledo – Odds Breaker
Lake Las Vegas resident and PGA TOUR Champions player Esteban Toledo’s inspirational journey of overcoming the odds is a must-read—and soon, a must see.
Across from this writer on a glorious spring day inside the Reflection Bay Golf Club at Lake Las Vegas clubhouse is one of the most unlikely professional golf success stories in history. There sits the one and only Esteban Toledo, a four-time PGA TOUR Champions winner and longtime PGA TOUR player. If you haven’t heard of him, now is the time to get to know his story. This article will help, but then keep an eye out for the movie about Toledo that will soon start production.
Toledo, who has made his home at Lake Las Vegas for the last few years, is Inspirational. Determined. Friendly. Outgoing. Caring. Fun. Genuine. Humble. And so much more.
“No one in the game today has fought greater odds to gain entry into golf’s elite than Toledo,” wrote Michael D’ Antonio, author of Tin Cup Dreams, A Long Shot Makes the PGA TOUR. “As a child of abject poverty, young Esteban scavenged for food and barely survived in a home in Mexico with neither electricity nor running water.”
The conditions were so bad that when Toledo described them to D’Antonio during the book writing process, the author didn’t believe him. Then the two ventured to Mexicali, Mexico, and Esteban showed the writer the home and his circumstances. What D’Antonio observed was more dire and shocking than he had ever imagined. D’Antonio never doubted Toledo’s stories again. But from that struggle a star was born. God was watching and blessed Toledo with divine intervention at a time he needed it most. That fateful moment helped Toledo reach rarified air on both the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions.
Toledo made 148 of 290 cuts on the PGA TOUR and earned more than $3.7 million during his career. On the PGA TOUR Champions, he is still active and has won four times, finished in the top 10 more than 20 times, and earned more than $5.1 million.
“This is the story of a kid, me, who had a very sad beginning, but a wonderful ending,” says Toledo, 61. “But I don’t believe that this is the ending because it’s still happening. I have so much left to do and to give back. I was this kid who came out of nowhere. I was very poor, very humble, with no direction whatsoever, and I made it to the greatest tour in the world, the PGA TOUR. It is remarkable. I still don’t believe I’m a part of this world.
“Recently, I was playing golf with Greg Hopkins, the former CEO of Cleveland Golf, and he told me I am not supposed to exist in golf because of what an amazing accomplishment it is. How many kids out of poverty and my difficult background make it to the PGA TOUR? That is what he was trying to tell me. It took a lot of discipline and a lot of courage. A lot of practice, patience, dedication, and determination. What he was saying was, ‘What are the odds?’”
The Divine Intervention that put Toledo on the path to stardom came in the caring nature of Jon and Rita Minnis. Jon spotted a barefoot Toledo expertly hitting golf balls at Mexicali Country Club and instantly wanted to know more about the club employee. He soon discovered a diamond in the rough, and spent the next decade helping Toledo pursue his dreams.
“Without them, I wouldn’t be here,” Toledo says. “I often think, ‘Why there, why them and why me?’ But they saw something in me and I am forever grateful. In my circumstances, I knew I might not have a second chance, so when they said they were going to help me, I did it right and worked every day to make my dreams happen. God sent me that angel that day.”
Toledo soon moved to San Jose, California to be closer to Jon and Rita. He put in time and work on and off the course to reach the highest level. Besides practicing golf, he learned English, which he believed would be a key to his success.
But even with the newfound help, the journey was never easy. He attended multiple PGA TOUR Qualifying School events, coming close but never earning his card. “It took me 10 years of failing, going to the TOUR School and missing it by one shot or missing it by two shots,” Toledo says. “You know how painful it was to be so close but still so far away? It was brutal.”
Finally, in 1993, Toledo survived golf’s most grueling six days to earn his official PGA TOUR card for the next year. “I remember I finished early that Monday and I was right on the bubble of making it,” Toledo says. “I chipped it in for birdie on the last hole and I knew I was going to be very close to making it. I went to my car in the parking lot and prayed for at least two hours. Jon kept checking the scores and walking back and forth from the parking lot to the scoreboard. You know how stressful that it is when you have your dream right in front of you but it isn’t a certainty?
“As I waited, I was shaking, but Jon would say each time he came back to the car, ‘Hang in there, I think we have a chance.’ Then he came back and says, ‘I think we got it’, but I kept praying. He came back a final time and says, ‘We got it. There’s no way we can miss it. We got it!”
The tears immediately flowed for both Jon and Esteban. Then an embrace.
Dreams were realized that day when he finished tied for 26th and changed his life forever. Jon passed away in 2003 before Esteban won on the PGA TOUR Champions, but saw many of Esteban’s official PGA TOUR starts. Toledo was such an important person in Jon’s life that he was mentioned in Minnis’ official obituary.
“I couldn’t have done it without his kindness, love, and mentorship, because he’s the one who made me believe,” Toledo says. “I also believed it, but it’s totally different when somebody else is telling you, ‘You can do it.’ He never lost faith in me. He told me when times were difficult, ‘I’m not resting until you get your TOUR card.’ It was incredible to share that moment with him.”
Some of Toledo’s professional highlights include winning the 2000 Mexican Open and representing Mexico in the World Cup in 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2002, and 2006. In 2005, he won the Lake Erie Charity Classic at Peek ‘n Peak Resort, part of the Nike TOUR (now the Korn Ferry Tour).
In May 2013, Esteban became the first Mexican to win on the PGA Champions Tour when he won the Insperity Championship. He has since won the 2013 Montreal Championship, the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, and the 2016 Allianz Championship.
Toledo had a premonition prior to his first PGA TOUR Champions victory. He believes Jon was there in spirit. “I had never won on such a big stage and I had a dream the night before and Jon was in that dream,” he says. “He told me not to worry about it. I was seven shots back entering the final round. I woke up and told my wife that Jon says everything will be fine. I ended up winning. When it was over, I went to my knees. It was a beautiful moment.”
Given God’s hand in Toledo’s journey, it may be more than happenstance that a man who defied the big odds now resides in Southern Nevada, an area known worldwide for beating the odds. Toledo was looking to move from California when he found his future home in the resort and residential community in Henderson. Toledo quickly become a part of the Reflection Bay family and was welcomed by Eric Dutt, the course’s vice president of golf operations. Dutt played college golf at Purdue with Toledo’s agent, Jay Miller. When Toledo was looking to relocate, Lake Las Vegas came highly recommended. “Esteban is just a genuine person and someone you want to help because he is so willing to help others,” Dutt says. “He is someone who remembers where he came from and he is kind and pleasant to everyone he comes in contact with and is terrific to have here at Reflection Bay and Lake Las Vegas.”
Toledo knew he found a home the first time he and his wife, Colleen, laid eyes on the area. “I ended up in a perfect place at Reflection Bay, and Eric, his staff, and the members are fabulous,” Toledo says. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else, to be honest with you. I am the happiest guy. I get to play golf with all my friends and enjoy this wonderful area. It is beautiful. I recommend people visit and play here for so many reasons.”
This writer got to know Toledo during the 2024 Esteban Toledo Foundation event at Reflection Bay. In 2017, Toledo built the Esteban Toledo Foundation Family Home. It was made possible by Foundation supporters with Toledo contributing some of his TOUR earnings to the project.
The “Home of Love” in Mexicali helps up to 26 orphaned/foster care children and provides them with a safe, educational, loving, and caring environment. Each one is also encouraged to discover and achieve his or her dream. The facility is owned by the Foundation and operated in partnership with the D.I.F. (Desarrollo Integral de la Familia, or Integral Development of the Family), Mexico’s governmental agency committed to protect vulnerable children.
“It’s not about you or me all of the time; it’s about helping others in this world,” Toledo says. “It is important to stay humble and remember where I came from. I tell the kids to never give up. That is what Jon always told me and I honor his memory by sharing that message. The person who never gives up and keeps fighting is always going to be successful.”
To help with Esteban’s mission, visit: estebantoledofamilyfoundation.org
Story By Brian Hurlburt
