phenom

No one has won the City Section individual golf championship four times, but Layla Phillips has a chance to be the first.

The 14-year-old freshman from Harbor Teacher Prep carded a five-under-par 67 on Thursday at Balboa Golf Course in Encino, good enough for a six-stroke victory over Macy Lee of El Camino Real.

“She’s been playing since she was 2,” explained her father Kasey, who was there to watch his daughter’s round and could not have been more proud. “Our old house was right off of Maggie Hathaway Golf Course and balls were constantly flying onto our property. It was an annoying thing and my wife was afraid the kids might get hit playing in the backyard. So we complained about it and they offered us free lessons as kind of a peace offering.”

As fate would have it, Layla and her sister Roxanne, one year younger, both took to the sport like fish to water.

“We started taking lessons at Chester Washington Golf Course because they had a better driving range there,” said Layla, who started playing the Toyota Tour Cup series 18 months ago. “We get along great and we practice together everyday. She’s following in my footsteps. We’re opposites. I get really nervous but she just hits the ball and doesn’t care. At times, we have to take advice from each other.”

After bogeying the first hole, Phillips birdied the second, eagled the third and birdied the fourth to vault to the top of the leaderboard. She maintained at least a two-shot lead the rest of the way. A bogey on No. 6 was followed by two pars and three consecutive birdies that stretched the margin to six.

“I can’t be too mad with my performance today but there’s always room for improvement,” said Phillips, who got to six-under before bogeying 18 and who finished two strokes off the City finals record of 65 set last year by Palisades senior Anna Song, now a freshman at Stanford. “I’ve only played this course twice before and I’d never played the back nine.”

Phillips tries to get a round in once a week and plays a two-day tournament every month. She shot six-under (equaling her personal best) to win a Southern California PGA Junior Tour championship in Palm Springs in December. She has won around 50 SCPGA Junior events since she was 10. In March, Roxanne won the L.A. City Junior championship by 15 shots on the same course when she was only 12.

“School lets out at 3:30 so I’m practicing from 4 to 7:30 p.m. at Los Verdes [in Palos Verdes] or Victoria [in Carson],” said Phillips, who finished in the top 10 at the Junior World Golf Championship last year in San Diego.

Phillips longs to play college golf (maybe at USC, which is only a 30-minute drive from where she lives in Harbor City). When told she could potentially be the first four-time City champion, she said: Yeah, it’s a possibility. My best competition in City might be my sister. She’s beaten me a couple of times already.”

She will also have to contend with fellow ninth grader Lauren Song (Anna’s sister) who shot a 75 to finish alone in third Thursday to help Palisades (+55) win its fifth straight team title, one shy of the City record accomplished twice by Granada Hills. The Highlanders finished second by 64 shots Thursday but still advanced to next week’s SoCal Regionals.

Eighth in a series of stories profiling top high school football players by position. Today, Jalen Flowers, Palos Verdes defensive back.

Jalen Flowers made a spectacular one-handed interception in a one-on-one drill during the spring. He didn’t run off the field waving his arms wildly or proclaim he’s the greatest lock-down cornerback since Deion Sanders.

“I’m not really a talker,” he said. “I let my game show it.”

He gives Palos Verdes High a 6-foot-2, 175-pound sophomore defensive back with the rare skill of being able to stick with any and all receivers. They can make moves, they can run their best patterns, but escaping Flowers doesn’t happen very often.

His instincts, lanky frame and knowledge from playing receiver come into play at a position in which misjudgments or a failure to respect an opponent can leave the defender getting burned for a touchdown.

“He’s got a knack,” coach Guy Gardner said of Flowers’ ability to cover receivers. “We coach him the best we can, but most of the things he does we didn’t coach. The way he carries himself, covering guys, running routes, things came naturally.”

He showed up during the summer of his freshman season and immediately got noticed as someone with talent. “It was pretty obvious,” Gardner said.

A 16-week season that led to a Division 2-A state championship saw Flowers catch four passes for 58 yards and one touchdown in the final. He finished the season with 26 tackles and one interception in his first full season playing defensive back and was literally growing taller every month.

“We didn’t think about him being a freshman from the midpoint of the season,” Garner said.

Flowers has played football since he was 6, so nothing an opponent tries to do on a football field ever surprises him.

“He really enjoys playing,” Gardner said. “You can see it when he plays. And he has some God-given ability.”

There are so many defensive backs with college football scholarship offers this season in Southern California that you’ll get a different answer every time you ask, “Who’s best?”

Madden Riordan, a USC commit from Sierra Canyon, had 11 interceptions last season. Isala Wily-Ava of St. John Bosco had 72 tackles as a sophomore safety along with seven interceptions. Aaryn Washington, a junior at Mater Dei, had 23 tackles and three interceptions during a 13-0 season. Gardena Serra has a trio of defensive backs headed to the college ranks in Wesley Ace, Marcellous Ryan and Duvay Williams.

There are schools with multiple top defensive backs, including St. John Bosco, Serra, Sierra Canyon, Mater Dei and Santa Margarita. No one is perfect. Even the best give up a touchdown on occasion.

But pay attention to what Flowers accomplishes in his sophomore season. Prepare for the bandwagon effect when people realize his gift for sticking close to receivers and start figuring out he’s no fluke.

And Flowers warns he’s not done growing.

“I might have an inch or more in me,” he said.

Said Gardner: “He’s putting in the work ethic with that ability and keeps getting better.”

Wednesday: San Pedro kicker Dylan Moreno.

Defensive backs to watch

Davon Benjamin, Oaks Christian, 6-0, 170, Sr.: Oregon commit returned three interceptions for touchdowns last season

Havon Finney Jr., Sierra Canyon, 6-3, 170, Sr.: LSU commit is terrific cornerback

Jalen Flowers, Palos Verdes, 6-2, 175, So.: He covers receivers so close he knows what gum they are chewing

Josh Holland, St. John Bosco, 6-2, 175, Sr.: USC commit with long arms and deceiving strength

Derrick Johnson, Murrieta Valley, 6-2, 170, Sr.: Oklahoma commit is tall, aggressive cornerback

Jeron Jones, Mission Viejo, 6-0, 195, Sr.: Washington commit makes big plays and big tackles

DeVohn Moutra Jr., Gardena Serra, 5-9, 190, Sr. Defensive player of the year from Mission League

Madden Riordan, Sierra Canyon, 5-11, 164, Sr.: USC commit had 11 interceptions

Aaryn Washington, Mater Dei, 6-0, 160, Jr:. Ready to make a leap in production

Isala Wiley-Ava, St. John Bosco, 6-3, 195, Jr.: Had seven interceptions as a sophomore

Donte Wright, Long Beach Poly, 6-2, 170, Jr. Georgia commit is fast, tough and smart