Lakewood Ranch sibling golfers knock heads on their way becoming leaders

Drew Angelo and his sister, Ashleigh, cannot, or will not, stop bickering.

The Angelo siblings sat across a table outside the pro shop of Lakewood National Golf Club, where Drew, a 16-year-old junior at Lakewood Ranch High, works as a cart assistant.

On this day, he was tasked with watching his 14-year-old sister, who is a Mustangs freshman. Though the topics of conversation ranged from family vacations to areas of strength on the golf course, they each tried to get the last word on the other’s answers. They both said the other “tries to be funny.”

It’s a stereotypical brother-sister movie scene that has come to life, and the two purposefully tried to spice it up with some added antagonism.

For example, Ashleigh brought up Drew's driving habits, perhaps a little too good for her taste. Drew takes Ashleigh to school every morning in his silver Honda Accord and he tries to keep the volume of his car radio very low.

She fights for control of the volume and station settings and, according to her, usually wins. She usually will play either country or pop and pumps up the volume.

“Who wants music blaring at 6:30 a.m?” Drew asked.

When not arguing, the Angelo siblings are leaders on their respective Mustang golf teams. Drew and the boys team is 35-3 while Ashleigh and the girls squad is 28-3 ( Oct. 7) with district play beginning Oct. 16. The elder Angelo, the boys' No. 1 golfer, won medalist honors at the Manatee County Championship on Oct. 7 at the Buffalo Creek Golf Club, shooting 70 over 18 holes, and finished tied for sixth in the state at last year's championships, shooting a two-over 74 on both days of the tournament at Mission Inn Resort and Club in Howey-in-the-Hills.

Ashleigh made a mark on Lakewood Ranch golf right away, leading the girls team with a 35 over nine holes at Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club in her first match as a high schooler on Aug. 22, and was second (40) at the Riverview Invitational on Sept. 22 to junior teammate Natalie Robson's 38. She and Robson go back and forth playing as the team's No. 1.

"They focus on a lot of short game," Joe Angelo, their dad and the head golf pro at Heritage Oaks Golf and Country Club, said. "Putting and pitching are strengths of both, as is the ability to recover. When they don't hit a good shot, they are able to get the ball up and down and turn bogeys into pars. We spend a lot of time on that aspect of the game."

Their father also mentioned both players getting more adept at ball-striking as they better learn their own swings. Drew hits the ball about 275 yards off the tee, and Ashleigh goes about 230. 

Ashleigh's earliest golf memory is messing around at the driving range with Drew and their father. Drew would even give his sister tips. Typically it would be something small, like an alignment issue.

They still play together, mostly over summer break when the high school season isn’t in session, but there’s not much helping anymore. Not when the two are battling to claim the title of top Angelo child golfer.

Ashleigh claims she beat her brother in a nine-hole match over the summer. Drew said no, that didn't happen. She came close, he said, but she didn’t win. Besides, she used the girls’ tees, which he said was an unfair advantage.

“He’s making excuses,” Ashleigh said.

They also have different golf quirks. Ashleigh practices her drives with earbuds inserted, and tries to eat something the morning of a match, though she’s not picky about what. Drew always packs a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to eat on the course, and he spends the night before tournaments in the gym, getting his body loose.

 They also are fierce competitors and they don't mind their opponents knowing it.

"It's cool," Ashleigh said. "We want to represent the Angelo name well."