Back in Hawaii for the first time since a childhood family vacation, Ricky Castillo is about to make his debut as a full PGA Tour member at this week’s Sony Open. For the 23-year-old golfer, it’s more than just another tournament – it’s a deeply personal homecoming.
The last time Castillo was here, he was just a second-grader getting his first glimpse of his family’s humble beginnings.
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His grandparents, Orlino and Lydia, had worked the sugar cane plantations of Kauai after immigrating from the Philippines following World War II. The houses they lived in weren’t much to look at – rundown and weathered by time.
“It wasn’t the most glorious life. It was kind of dirty and old, but they made it work and worked hard for us to get to where we are today,” Castillo recalls.
His father Mark, now a teacher, wanted his three kids to understand their roots. “I wanted them to see the plantation before they tore down the houses,” Mark told the New York Times in 2020. “I wanted them to understand the people who came before us worked very hard so you could have what you have.”
That work ethic seems to have paid off. Castillo earned his PGA Tour card after a successful run on the Korn Ferry Tour last year. Before that, he was an All-American at the University of Florida and represented the U.S. in the prestigious Walker Cup.
But there’s one person missing from this homecoming – his grandmother Lydia, who passed away in 2014 when Ricky was in middle school.
She was more than just a grandmother. Lydia was the one who made Ricky’s early golf career possible, funding his junior tournament schedule when his teacher parents couldn’t afford it. She’d pick him up from school and drive him to practice, waiting until his parents finished work.
“She was super, super influential on my life,” Ricky says. “I’m happy that my first start is going to be able to be out here in Hawaii and feel like a part of her is always with me.”
Actually, a part of her is always with him – literally. Around his neck hangs a puka-shell necklace, replacing the original one Lydia gave him when he was 5. He hasn’t taken it off since.
“I get some backlash from it at times,” he admits with a smile, “but I love wearing it, and it’s cool that I always feel like she’s right here.”
His family’s flying in from Yorba Linda to watch him play at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu. They’ll join local relatives, including an uncle who’s been tasked with a special mission – bringing ensaymadas, the beloved Filipino pastry, from a nearby bakery.
It’s shaping up to be quite a homecoming.
