Eighty junior golfers representing 30 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces have earned an invitation to Augusta National Golf Club to compete in the second annual Drive, Chip and Putt Championship National Finals, to be played on Sunday, April 5, 2015, prior to the start of the Masters Tournament.
A joint initiative by the Masters Tournament, the United States Golf Association and the PGA of America, the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship is a free nationwide junior competition focusing on the three fundamental skills employed in golf, tapping the creative and competitive spirit of girls and boys, ages 7-15.
Results of the 10 regional qualifiers – the third and final stage leading to the 2015 National Finals – yielded five returning competitors from last year’s event. Kelly Xu of Santa Monica, Calif., is the lone returning champion, who will compete in the Girls 10-11 Division after winning the Girls 7-9 Division in Augusta last April.
The road to Augusta began with local qualifying in May, June and July, held at more than 250 sites throughout the United States. The top three scorers per venue, in each of four age categories in separate boys and girls divisions, advanced to 49 sub-regional qualifiers in August. Two juniors in each age and gender division then competed at the regional level through September.
The top finisher from each regional site’s age/gender divisions earned a place in the National Finals, which will be broadcast live on Golf Channel. All local, sub-regional and regional qualifiers were conducted by the 41 Sections of the PGA of America, with PGA Professionals providing support at each facility hosting a qualifier.
Notes from Regional Qualifying:
There are five returning competitors from last year’s National Finals – Conner Willett (6th, Boys 10-11, of Wellesley, Mass.), Logan Medcalf (Runner-up, Boys 7-9, of Lynden, Wash.), Ashley Gilliam (T-3rd, Girls 12-13, of Manchester, Tenn.), Kelly Xu (Champion, Girls 7-9; of Santa Monica, Calif.) and Christine Wang (Runner-up, Girls 12-13, of Houston, Texas).
T.K. Schultz of Bulverde, Texas, had the largest margin of victory (45) in regional qualifying, outscoring the second-place competitor, 160-115.
Matthew Camel of Greenwich, Conn., scored the most points in regional qualifying with 169 – 69 in the Drive, 40 in the Chip and 60 in the Putt.
Two sets of siblings qualified. Isaiah and Lydia Swan of North East, Pa., qualified for the Boys’ and Girls’ 10-11 age groups, respectively. San Diego brothers Shane and Colin Ffrench qualified at Torrey Pines. Shane qualified for the Boys 12-13 Division while Colin qualified for the Boys 14-15 Division.
First-time finalist Ariana Saenz of Porter, Texas captured the Girls 14-15 Division at the South Central regional qualifier with 119 points. Saenz started playing golf at age three, shortly after having open-heart surgery.
Omaha native Nia Station advanced to the finals of the Girls’ 14-15 division with a final score of 128. The daughter of former University of Iowa All-America football player Larry Station, Nia is a participant in The First Tee of Omaha/Hogan’s Junior Golf Heroes programs.
While Anna Earl of Vienna, W.Va., failed to advance in the Girls 10-11 Division at Prestwick Village Golf Club in Highland, Mich., she displayed a tenacious spirit even in defeat. Earl, who has cerebral palsy, posted a remarkable 24 in her regional qualifier, after posting a second-place finish in sub-regionals in August.
Iowa PGA Junior Tour participant Brooke Boardman (128) took medalist honors in the Girls 12-13 Division at Tiffany Greens Golf Club in Kansas City, Mo. Boardman, of Waukee, Iowa, won the Iowa PGA Golf Skills Challenge in the same age division earlier this year and has several junior golf titles to her credit.
All championship scoring at the local, sub-regional and regional qualifiers is based on a 25-point-per-shot basis, with each participant taking three shots per skill. Each participant accumulated points per shot in all three skills (maximum of 75 points per skill = 25 points per shot x 3). The overall champion in each age category was determined by the participant with the most points accumulated between all three skills (maximum of 225 points = 75 points per skill x 3).
For each skill, the point system is based in incremental distance measurements, rewarding accuracy and distance in the drive skill, and proximity for chipping and putting skills. Difficulty increases with age.
At the National Finals, one champion will be named from each age/gender division. Each final will be scored based on a 30-point system, offering the player with the longest drive 10 points, the player with the closest cumulative chips 10 points and the player with the nearest cumulative putts 10 points, in each separate skill. The highest total composite score will determine the winner.
For more information about the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship, please visit www.DriveChipandPutt.com.
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REGIONAL QUALIFYING RESULTS
Qualifying sites:
Region
Host Site
City, State
Northeast
Bethpage Green
Farmingdale, N.Y.
View Results
Central
Crooked Stick Golf Club
Carmel, Ind.
View Results
Great Lakes
Prestwick Village Golf Club
Highland, Mich.
View Results
Rocky Mountain
Promontory Nicklaus Course Park City
Park City, Utah
View Results
Middle Atlantic
River Bend Golf & Country Club
Great Falls, Va.
View Results
South Central
The Courses at Watters Creek
Plano, Texas
View Results
Midwest
Tiffany Greens Golf Club
Kansas City, Mo.
View Results
West
Torrey Pines Golf Course
San Diego, Calif.
View Results
Southeast
TPC Sugarloaf
Duluth, Ga.
View Results
Upper Midwest
TPC Twin Cities
Blaine, Minn.
View Results
Qualifying results
Girls 7-9
Finalist Name
Points
Hometown
Qualifying Region
Summer Lee
127
Plano, Texas
South Central
Jessica Guiser
124
Hartland, Wis.
Upper Midwest
Jayla Kucy
108
Camrose, Alberta, Canada
Rocky Mountain
Molly Smith
106
Tyngsboro, Mass.
Northeast
Vanessa Borovilos
104
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Great Lakes
Meghan Paracuelles
102
Folsom, Calif.
West
Victoria Matthews
101
Great Falls, Va.
Middle Atlantic
Charlie Whorton
93
Springdale, Ark.
Midwest
Efthemia (Effie) Perakis
89
Glenview, Ill.
Central
Gloria Nip
85
Conshohocken, Pa.
Southeast
Girls 10-11
Finalist Name
Points
Hometown
Qualifying Region
Mackenzie Lee
150
North Little Rock, Ark.
South Central
Katherine Schuster
140
Kill Devil Hills, N.C.
Middle Atlantic
Neysa Dechachutinan
133
Birmingham, Ala.
Southeast
Kelly Xu
128
Santa Monica, Calif.
West
Lydia Swan
120
North East, Pa.
Great Lakes
Berlin Long
118
Lehi, Utah
Rocky Mountain
Julia Misemer
118
Overland Park, Kan.
Midwest
Kynadie Adams
106
Gallatin, Tenn.
Central
Megha Ganne
101
Jersey City, N.J.
Northeast
Camille Kuznik
95
Brooklyn Park, Minn.
Upper Midwest
Girls 12-13
Finalist Name
Points
Hometown
Qualifying Region
Christine Shao
147
Green Brook, N.J.
Northeast
Megan Chou
141
Los Altos, Calif.
West
Morgan Goldstein
140
Las Vegas, Nev.
Rocky Mountain
Ashley Gilliam
136
Manchester, Tenn.
Southeast
Aayushi Sarkar
134
Woodbury, Minn.
Upper Midwest
Parker Stalvey
131
Elgin, S.C.
Middle Atlantic
Brooke Boardman
128
Waukee, Iowa
Midwest
Christine Wang
126
Houston, Texas
South Central
Caroline Smith
120
Inverness, Ill.
Central
Anika Dy
116
Traverse City, Mich.
Great Lakes
Girls 14-15
Finalist Name
Points
Hometown
Qualifying Region
Jennifer Rosenberg
156
Laurel Hollow, N.Y.
Northeast
Jessica Ponce
153
Portland, Ore.
Rocky Mountain
Gina Kim
150
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Middle Atlantic
Leila Dizon
149
Los Angeles, Calif.
West
Alexandra Swayne
139
Maineville, Ohio
Central
Abbey Daniel
136
Covington, La.
Southeast
Emily Lauterbach
136
Hartland, Wis.
Upper Midwest
Nia Station
128
Omaha, Neb.
Midwest
Ariana Saenz
119
Porter, Texas
South Central
Olivia Zambruno
117
Mount Pleasant, Pa.
Great Lakes
Boys 7-9
Finalist Name
Points
Hometown
Qualifying Region
Jay Leng, Jr.
144
Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
West
Grayson Wood
135
Fredericksburg, Va.
Middle Atlantic
Chance Rinkol
119
Leawood, Kan.
Midwest
John Hiller
115
New York, N.Y.
Northeast
Daniel Zou
115
Humble, Texas
South Central
Logan Medcalf
111
Lynden, Wash.
Rocky Mountain
Peyton Blackard
110
Fort Branch, Ind.
Central
Maxwell Tjoa
106
Cedar Falls, Iowa
Upper Midwest
PJ Maybank
103
Cheboygan, Mich.
Great Lakes
Tristan Wieland
102
Jupiter, Fla.
Southeast
Boys 10-11
Finalist Name
Points
Hometown
Qualifying Region
Isaiah Swan
156
North East, Pa.
Great Lakes
Marcus Holling
142
Grand Island , Neb.
Midwest
Abhay Gupta
136
Concord, N.C.
Middle Atlantic
Jonas Appel
134
Encinitas, Calif.
West
Satchel Pierce
133
Union, Mich.
Central
Benjamin Stoller
133
Owasso, Okla.
South Central
Avery Lazarski
132
Las Vegas, Nev.
Rocky Mountain
Joseph Lenane
130
Boston, Mass.
Northeast
Jake Peacock
127
Alpharetta, Ga.
Southeast
Ryan Blair
121
Oakbank, Manitoba, Canada
Upper Midwest
Boys 12-13
Finalist Name
Points
Hometown
Qualifying Region
George Duangmanee
166
Fairfax, Va.
Middle Atlantic
Conner Willett
151
Wellesley, Mass.
Northeast
Ben Stone
142
Spokane, Wash.
Rocky Mountain
Shane Ffrench
142
San Diego, Calif.
West
Connery Meyer
140
Marietta, Ga.
Southeast
Maxwell Moldovan
139
Uniontown, Ohio
Great Lakes
Dongsoo Lee
136
Fayetteville, Ark.
South Central
Jordan Jurmu
134
Marquette, Mich.
Upper Midwest
Drew Dunham
133
Angola, Ind.
Central
Jason Cruise Jr.
119
Bellevue, Neb.
Midwest
Boys 14-15
Finalist Name
Points
Hometown
Qualifying Region
Matthew Camel
169
Greenwich, Conn.
Northeast
Toby Wilson
164
Bartlett, Tenn.
Southeast
T.K. Schultz
160
Bulverde, Texas
South Central
Grant Herrenbruck
154
Salina, Kan.
Midwest
Samuel Pyon
151
Happy Valley, Ore.
Rocky Mountain
Connor Glynn
149
Waconia, Minn.
Upper Midwest
Colin Ffrench
146
San Diego, Calif.
West
Everett Whiten Jr.
144
Chesapeake, Va.
Middle Atlantic
Coalter Smith
134
Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.
Great Lakes
Jimmy Morton
114
Sugar Grove, Ill.
Central