Met Golfer May 2025Queen of Queens

Queen of Queens
By Hank Gola
Alexa Phung’s journey to two Drive Chip & Putt National championships at Augusta National began at the Flushing Meadow Park pitch and putt course, in a free program run by the City Parks Foundation.
The Forest Hills phenom, the program’s most accomplished graduate, clinched another win in the Girls 12-13 age group after winning the Girls 10-11 division in 2023. After confidently watching her winning 30-foot putt take a right-to-left break and curl into the cup, she gave it a fist pump as her parents, Tam and Julie, high-fived.
The journey to her latest title began when she walked into Flushing Meadow Park as a 6-year-old.
“It was very apparent in a very early age that she was gifted,” says Mike Silverman, director of sports for the City Parks Foundation. “Guy Robinson, her instructor there, recommended that she join our PGA Junior Golf team. It was actually our first year back then, and she is still the youngest player we ever had. We’re up to about 100 kids now at our Junior Golf Center in Brooklyn. It’s a great success story, and she was a part of it at an early age.”
Alexa had started swinging a club around age 4, according to her mom, trying to keep up with her four-year-older sister Amelie, who recently accepted a scholarship to play golf at Rice University. That sibling rivalry continued in the PGA Junior League.
“It helped me be more motivated to improve so I could play the same events as Amelie,” Alexa says. “We played many tournaments in the same age sections once I was able to hit longer. It was so much fun to be in the same events.”
It didn’t take long, however, for Alexa to take the international stage. In addition to four appearances in the DCP National Finals, she has won four world titles, two of them in Europe, and always seems to be in the mix at U.S. Kids Golf events.
Alexa considers short game to be her strength, but adds, “As I am getting my athleticism, it’s starting to show in my drives now. I hit the ball 232 yards at DCP 2025 and can reach 250 yards often now in women’s events.”
Her mom adds that she has always been able to make shots under pressure, like the winning putt she drained at Augusta.
Phung spends about four hours a day in golf-related activities while going attending Florida Atlantic University’s A.D. Henderson University School in Boca Raton, Florida. The family returns to New York for the summer and are members at Bonnie Briar Country Club in Larchmont, N.Y. Her interests, however, extend far beyond golf. She is a competitive chess player and a STEM tutor, along with Amelie. She also likes to fish.
Alexa hopes to qualify for the DCP finals again in her last two years of eligibility and aspires to one day play in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and perhaps the LPGA.
Meanwhile, the City Parks Foundation golf program continues to grow and flourish in partnership with First Tee, all free to kids – and maybe another little Alexa.
CoverLexusTable of ContentsPerfect DriveCallawayWin or LearnB. DraddyA Note of Thanks to Our ClubsMaury Povich Joins Foundation BoardQ&A With David BarrettAdaptive Golf Program Begins Second YearMetLifeNews from the Met AreaQueen of QueensDewarsA Life of CuriosityHamilton Farm, The Ike: A June CotillionPoland SpringKeeping Things FreshTriple ThreatStifelPrepping for BattleWebster BankOwning ItMonster Golf Club / Resorts WorldFar and TrueMollie’s FundFrom White Whale to Green JacketWheatleyNothing Plain About ItMastheadPublications Archive Page