Local youth golfer gets ace at World Championship

Getting a hole-in-one in golf is not easy as the odds are 12,500 to 1. Add on the fact that an 11-year-old did it at a world championship and it becomes even more special. That is exactly what Lincoln golfer Myles Pena, 11, did at the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship in Southern Pines, North Carolina on July 31. From 151 yards out with a 3-hybrid, Myles hit a baby draw that hit five feet short of the hole and rolled in. Myles' ace was the only one in his age group in the entire tournament. "As soon as I hit it, it was on a really good line but I couldn't see the ball after it entered the shadow, so I had no idea where it was," Myles said. Once the ball fell, Myles' father, Arnold, along with other spectators cheered loudly in excitement. For some, an ace might be viewed as a stroke of luck, but that's not the case with Myles as he plays to a seven handicap off the men's tees. Myles started the game of golf at age four in a Turkey Creek Golf Club summer camp. Shortly after, at age five, he joined the junior golf academy. "When I was really little, I went to the academy and I just remember it being really fun," Myles said. Myles' favorite place to play is the Orchard Course at Sun City Lincoln Hills. He has played in multiple junior tours at area courses, including the Little Linkers at Diamond Oaks Golf Course and the U.S. Kids Golf Sacramento tour. He came first in these tournaments nine times and his lowest nine-hole score is four-under-par at the Arcade Creek Course at Haggin Oaks. "I am impressed by his work ethic at such a young age," said Myles' swing coach James Shipp. "His ability to stay focused on technique for long periods of time is phenomenal and I think this is what gives him the edge in his competition." Shipp has been Myles' swing coach since he was 10. Before the world championship, Myles played a First Tee event at Woodcreek where he played up in the 12- to 13-year-old age group shooting 79 and finishing third, including a two-under-par score of 34 on the back nine from the blue tees. "It boosted my confidence in how I could do and what I could shoot and the distances I played there were longer than distances at world's (championship)," Myles said. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Myles had a chance to play more rounds outside of competition at area courses that stayed open. "He normally spent some time on Jiu Jitsu and basketball and due to the lockdown, he had lots of opportunities to play and improve more on his swing," father Arnold Pena said. Myles and Arnold Pena like to make it a friendly competition by playing once or twice a week against each other "in skins" for quarters. "We like to keep it fun and keep golf as really a family thing for us and we really enjoy the time out together," Arnold Pena said. Myles has received plenty of support since he returned home from the world championship, including a congratulations note from his neighbor that was left on his basketball hoop. The Twelve Bridges Middle School sixth-grader plans to eventually play for Twelve Bridges High School. His goals are to make it to the world championship one more time and win at the American Junior Golf Association level when he turns 13. "My favorite part of the game is that I'm out there and doing something that I love with my dad," Myles said. "I also really like the competition and the fact I'm outside and in nature." Myles began another junior tour that started Sunday at Bartley Cavanaugh Golf Course. He will play in the U.S. Kids Northern California State Invitational at Rancho Murieta that starts on Sept. 5.