Wavebreak Media/Thinkstock(COMPTON, Calif.) — Two golf-playing sisters in Compton, California, are drawing attention for their small size and strong swing.
Layla Phillips, 6, won a Southern California PGA drive, chip and putt competition last week and is now qualified to compete in a junior world contest to be held in San Diego.
Her sister, 4-year-old Roxy, told ABC station KABC-TV that she prefers “making the putts.” Layla said she is partial to “hitting on the fairway.”
Luis Batson, CEO of the nonprofit organization Help Youth Through Golf, said, “They are very, very good. I can only compare them to the sisters Williams in tennis.”
The Phillips sisters got their start in the sport while living next to a Los Angeles golf course. Their mother, writing to the golf course, asked them to do something about balls landing in her back yard. The response from Maggie Hathaway Golf Course came with an apology and offer for family golf lessons.
Layla and Roxy have been swinging ever since, and mom Jasimen Phillips sees a bright future.
“In our family education is always the first priority, so our first goal is full ride scholarships to Stanford, and everything else after that is icing on the cake,” she said.
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