6-year-old golfer heads to regionals in Hawaii

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- At just six years old, Gloria Bowens is heading across the ocean to drive, chip and putt her way to a regional championship. The young golfer picked up the game at the age of four, when she tagged along to one of her father's golf lessons. Dr. Antonio Bowens says he noticed she had a natural golf swing early on.

 "It's a little tricky but i can handle it," says Gloria Bowens, when asked if she's nervous about the competition. To her, golf is fun. She and her father spend hours practicing each week, but she says her favorite thing about golf is spending time with him.

"In sports you learn a lot - how to compete, control emotions, how to win, how to lose. She's been training with the First Tee of El Paso. It goes beyond, and even teaches students different words of the week, like character, and attitude," Dr. Bowens says.

"It takes a village to coach a young player," he adds.  "I thought about myself, and my wife played tennis in college...multiple people have played a role in her development and we're thankful for the opportunity and hopefully she can go to Hawaii and represent El Paso well.  Regardless of the outcome, it's all about exposure and experience. At this stage you just want the kiddos to enjoy the game and have fun so we're out here just practicing and competing...she's beat me a couple of times, so she pushed me to get better."

There are a total of 10 Regional Qualifying events across the country, as participants compete to advance to the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals on April 6, 2025 at Augusta National Golf Club. Good luck to Gloria, from all of us here at abc 7!

If you'd like to learn more about the First Tee of El Paso click here: https://firstteegreaterelpaso.org/