Kaleiya Romero is prepping to tee it up this week at Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon as one of the Epson Tour’s brightest rookies, and for the first time in four weeks.

The 23-year-old from San Jose, California, opened her professional season with three straight top-15 finishes in Florida. It was a statement start for a player who turned pro after a decorated career at Pepperdine University and a unique detour as an assistant coach at the University of Oregon. Now, back on the West Coast she knows so well, Romero is playing with the kind of calm confidence that usually takes veterans years to find.

“I'm not putting too much pressure on myself and not changing a whole lot because what I’ve been doing in the past has always worked for me,” she said. “I think when I came out of college, I kind of panicked a little bit my first year, and I was trying to change a bunch of things… But then I took some time at Oregon, and realized that what I was doing was already working.”

That realization didn’t come overnight. After graduating from Pepperdine, where she earned four straight All-West Coast Conference First Team honors, won the 2021 Dick McGuire Invitational, and posted 10 top-10 finishes in her college career, Romero initially struggled with the leap to professional golf. She tried to overhaul her game, chasing the “extra stuff” she thought a pro needed.

Then came the coaching gig at The University of Oregon.

Last year, while serving as an assistant for the Ducks (where her younger sister, Kiara Romero, is a two-time first-team All-American and one of the top amateurs in the world), Kaleiya barely practiced. She was too busy helping coach the team. Yet her own game improved dramatically.

She explained. “I think that was just from learning how to manage a course better and learning from Coach Derek and how he looks at golf. It made me realize that I don’t need to hit the driver all the time, and I can lay back and still score well, and know where to miss and all that.”

The experience gave her something even more valuable than technical improvement: perspective. While many rookies feel pressure to grind 10-hour days at the course, Romero learned she could take a day off and still show up ready to compete.

“I would take two weeks off at a time because we’d go back-to-back tournaments, and I can’t practice when I’m out there coaching,” Romero expressed. “But I realized that my game’s not going to go anywhere if that happens.”

That mental freedom has translated to consistent results early in 2026. Through the Florida stretch, Romero proved she belongs. Now, with the Epson Tour back on the West Coast in Beaumont, followed by stops that feel like home, she’s excited for family and familiar surroundings to join the ride.

“My parents could come out and watch, and we have a lot of family friends out here,” she said with a smile. “So just happy to be on the West Coast and back in SoCal.”

Family has always been at the center of Romero’s story. She, her brother Kyreece, and sister Kiara grew up in San Jose in a tight-knit athletic household. The siblings played everything together and pushed each other relentlessly. Kaleiya still lives in Oregon part-time, staying close to Kiara, who is tearing it up for the Ducks.

Their bond was on full display earlier this year when Kaleiya caddied for Kiara at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur right after the Florida stretch.

“It was super fun,” Romero recalled. “It was like right after the Florida stretch, so I was a little tired, but I was like, you know what? It’s Augusta. I’ll go do it for you… We had a lot of fun last year, and she played really well. I don’t do a whole lot of caddying out there. I just carry the bag and hang out with her. But keeping her happy is how she plays better, and I learn a lot from that.”

Kiara wanted her big sister on the bag again this week at the Chevron Championship, but Kaleiya had her own tournament to play. The sisters will have to wait for the next crossover opportunity.

For now, Kaleiya is focused on the present and the process that got her here. No panic. No overhauls. Just smart course management, trust in her game, and the quiet confidence of someone who has already worn multiple hats: college star, coach, sister, and now professional golfer.

After a four-week break, the Epson Tour is rolling again, and so is Kaleiya Romero. The West Coast swing feels like a homecoming, but the real story is what she’s bringing with her: the hard-won wisdom of a rookie who already understands what many pros take years to learn.

She’s not changing what works. And right now, it’s working just fine.

The Romero Way: Kaleiya Romero Is Right Where She Belongs

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