Phillips grew up in Tulsa as a golf prodigy. He was a 4-time AJGA All-American and won the 1980 Junior PGA Championship. Despite his success, Phillips faced several challenges in high school golf.In his junior year, Phillips hurt his back while practicing and suffered a herniated disc. He took nine weeks off and noticed a big difference in his swing after the injury. He also topped out at 5’4 as an adult, hurting his ability to drive the ball as far as his competitors.Phillips’ short game helped him overcome his flaws as he continued to shine at the collegiate level. Phillips attended Oklahoma State University and eventually earned second-team All-American honors.Despite his success, Phillips’ coach worked on tweaking his swing to develop more ‘lag.’ This changed ended up being a disaster, as Phillips struggled to adjust and developed the driver yips.The damage carried over into his professional career, and after a quick stint playing overseas in Asia, Phillips called it quits.After walking away from the game, Phillips became a club professional working for his father at Cedar Ridge. He didn’t play any golf for 20 years.Around 2008, a friend of Phillips invited him for a round of casual golf. Once Phillips started playing again, the feels and skills returned quickly and he was hooked. In 2014, Phillips competed in several South Central PGA Section events and qualified for the Senior PGA Championship.10 years later after competing and playing in several senior majors, Phillips has qualified for his first major championship at age 61.
