Before Kaia Layton started competing in junior golf tournaments, the course was a place to spend time with her family. They took her out to play for fun, and she spent part of her summers at First Tee junior camps at Empire Ranch Golf Club. Those early outings turned into a competitive pursuit that now has her aiming for college golf and, eventually, the LPGA Tour.
Layton, a homeschooled sophomore in the Class of 2029, began competing around age 12 in First Tee and U.S. Kids tournaments. Since then, she has expanded her schedule to include AJGA, JTNC, JGANC and U.S. Kids Teen Series events. This season, she ranked No. 2 on the First Tee Greater Sacramento Junior Tour, and she has won multiple events on other local tours.
As her tournament schedule has grown, Layton has stayed involved with the program that introduced her to organized golf. She is a member of First Tee’s Ace program, its highest level of capstone certification, and helps coach younger golfers through the Girls Golf and R.I.S.E. programs. Coaching brings her back to the kind of setting where she first got to know the sport, this time helping kids find their own reasons to keep playing.
Away from competition, Layton enjoys art, music, writing and spending time outdoors. She still values the part of golf that drew her in as a kid: time with family and friends, on and off the course. Her next goal is to earn a place in collegiate golf, with the LPGA Tour in sight.
