Top youth golfers to compete this weekend in Augusta ahead of Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Boys from Appling and Aiken are among the 80 young golfers who earned an invitation to Augusta National Golf Club for the Drive, Chip and Putt finals this weekend just ahead of the 89th Masters Tournament.

Shane Strickland, of Aiken, will compete in the boys 7-9 division and Colton Johnson of Appling will compete in the boys 12-13 division.

They’ll be trying to follow in the footsteps of Kipp Madison from Evans, who won the boys 12-13 category in last year’s competition.

Gates open at 7 a.m. Sunday at Augusta National for the annual competition.

In total, 80 junior golfers representing 28 U.S. states, two Canadian provinces and India earned an invitation to compete.

Conducted in partnership with the U.S. Golf Association, the Masters Tournament and the PGA of America, Drive, Chip and Putt is a free, nationwide youth golf development program open to boys and girls, ages 7-15, across four age divisions. The three-pronged competition tests the skills essential to playing the game – accuracy in driving, chipping and putting.

One national champion will be named from each age/gender division. Competitors will be scored based on a 30-point system, offering the player with the best 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.

Returning finalists are:

• Niko Ameredes (2022 National Finalist), of Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Eloise Fetzer (2023 National Finalist), of Charleston, S.C.
• Ava Frazier (2021 National Finalist), of Austin, Texas
• Ella June Hannant (2018 National Champion), of Pikeville, N.C.
• Hudson Justus (2023 National Finalist), of Gainesville Ga.
• Alexandra Phung (2023 National Champion and 2019, 2022 National Finalist), of Forest Hills, N.Y.

Local qualifying for the 11th season of Drive, Chip and Putt began in May and was held at hundreds of sites across the country this past summer. The top three scorers per venue, in each of the four age categories in separate boys and girls divisions, advanced to subregional qualifiers in July and August. The top two juniors in each age/gender division then competed at the regional level in September and October. Regional qualifying was held at 10 courses around the country, including multiple U.S. Open and PGA Championship venues.

The top finishers from each regional site’s age/gender divisions – a total of 80 finalists – earned a place in the National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club, which will be broadcast live on Golf Channel. All local, subregional and regional qualifiers were conducted by the 41 Sections of the PGA of America, with PGA of America Golf Professionals providing at each facility hosting a qualifier.

FULL LIST OF FINALISTS:

Notes from regional qualifying

• In his first time playing at the Golf Club of Tennessee, Nashville native Jack Williams felt right at home. With his strong chipping skills (55 points) and 134 total points, he clinched the Boys 10-11 division by a 12-point margin. He credited his win to his ability to stay focused, saying, “I wasn’t really watching the other players. I was just doing what I know how to do.” The Girls 7-9 winner, Gairat Kaur Kahlon, however, had a longer journey to the Golf Club of Tennessee. She traveled 7,690 miles by air from her home in India to compete in the regional qualifier, where her consistency across each discipline earned her first place (105 total points) and her first trip to Augusta National.
• Hudson Justus of Gainesville, Ga., became a two-time Drive, Chip and Putt National Finalist with his winning performance in the Boys 12-13 division at Valhalla Golf Club. Justus, who competed in 2023, said he is most excited to putt on Augusta National’s 18th green once again, with the leader board and patrons behind him. In the Girls 7-9 division, Perri Harris of Bowling Green, Ky., took first in every skill challenge on her way to 142 total points – an impressive 39-point edge over the runner-up. She later joked that her dad and her grandfather, 14-time PGA Tour winner and 2009 Masters runner-up Kenny Perry, could have a putt-off to decide who will caddie for her at the National Finals.
• “Tiny but mighty” is the mantra of Joey Wolf, the four-foot-tall winner of the Girls 7-9 division at Sea Island Golf Club. Wolf, of Sarasota, Fla., gradually climbed the leaderboard throughout the day, placing seventh in driving (14 points), sixth in chipping (30 points) and first in putting (55 points) to earn first place overall and her first trip to the National Finals. Porter Dover of Miami Beach, Fla., will also be making his first appearance at the National Finals, following his triumph in a 15-foot putt-off for the Boys 7-9 division. “This is like when my [older] brother got a hole-in-one, I still can’t believe it,” Dover reflected on his win.
• At Aronimink Golf Club, Niko Ameredes of Pittsburgh, Pa., punched his second ticket to Augusta National, where he competed in the 2022 National Finals. “Now that I’ve been there, I feel like I can win it this year,” said Ameredes, who sank two out of three putts to top the Boys 12-13 division overall. In the Boys 7-9 division, Lucas Dunaway of Troy, Va., also had a rock-solid day on the green, making his first two putts and holing his third chip. He cruised to victory with a total of 140 points – a 12-point edge over the second-place finisher.
• Carding 125 total points at The Ridgewood Country Club, Alexandra Phung of Forest Hills, N.Y., qualified for her fourth trip to the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals. Phung won the Girls 10-11 division at the 2023 National Finals, and she plans to take her knowledge from past experiences at Augusta National when she returns this spring. In the Girls 14-15 age group, Yashvi Shah – who took up the game just three years ago – scored 138 total points to win the division by an 18-point margin. The New Jersey native later said, “My sister (Vaidehi) made it to Drive, Chip and Putt regionals, but never made it all the way. I’m really excited to represent her and New Jersey at Augusta National.”
• The regional qualifier at Chambers Bay saw two golfers from the Canadian province of British Columbia secure their spot at the National Finals: Allen Kong of West Kelowna took first in the Boys 7-9 division, and Jenny Guo of West Vancouver won the Girls 12-13. Kong’s consistency was key in his overall victory, topping the leaderboard in both driving and chipping and placing third in putting for 133 total points. For Guo, who led the driving discipline and ultimately tallied 143 total points, the important thing is that “no matter how you’re doing, never give up.” She added that she’s excited to drive down Magnolia Lane when she competes at Augusta National.
• Practice made perfect for Council Bluffs, Iowa’s Chloe Perfect, who won the Girls 14-15 division at Hazeltine National Golf Club. With a stellar putting performance – 60 points – she edged ahead of her competitors for a total of 153 points. “I’ve been working my whole life and I’m just so excited that I got to move on out of all the people who have worked at golf their whole life, just like me,” Perfect said. Nikhil Rao of Lawrence, Kan., also shined on the putting green, holing his first two attempts. He finished the day with 127 points overall, winning the Boys 7-9 by a 17-point margin.
• At the first-ever Drive, Chip and Putt regional qualifier held at Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco, Ava Frazier of Austin, Texas, qualified for the National Finals for the second time. The 2021 National Finalist was among the top three competitors across each discipline, ultimately taking first place overall in the Girls 14-15 division with 126 points. Looking ahead to her second trip to Augusta National, she said, “I’m just really excited to be there again and meet a lot of new people.” In the Boys 12-13 division, Wyatt Basford of Tuttle, Okla., brought his strong short game: he sunk his six- and 30-foot putts and nestled his 15-foot putt within a foot of the hole to take first overall. “I’m kind of speechless right now,” Basford said of reaching the National Finals. “I can’t put it into words, to be honest.”
• It was comeback time for Chloe Lee of Plainfield, Ill., when she arrived at TPC Deere Run. After breaking her finger in gym glass, she spent five weeks without swinging a club. No matter, she earned 39 points to take first place in the driving category and 110 points in the Girls 12-13 division overall to become a first-time National Finalist. In his last year of eligibility, Jared Romano of Darien, Wisc., dominated the chipping discipline by a 10-point margin. Reflecting on his win in the Boys 14-15 division (131 points), Romano said, “I can’t even describe it. It’s really exciting. Going to Augusta, my last chance, means more than winning tournaments to me.” Romano, one of 11 children, added that one of his siblings will caddie for him at the National Finals.
• The final regional qualifier was the first-ever held at Hualalai Golf Course in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. In the Girls 12-13 division, Isabella Boettcher of Scottsdale, Ariz., punched her first ticket to Augusta National, thanks to consistency across all disciplines including first place in chipping. Looking ahead to the spring, Boettcher said her dad will her at the National Finals: “He taught me most of everything I know.” She added, “To have him there at Augusta National would mean a lot.” Anthony Wu, the winner of the Boys 14-15 division, has been to Augusta National in the past to cheer on his younger sister, Kaylee, when she reached the National Finals. After tallying 155 total points – the highest score of the day at Hualalai – he secured his own spot to compete in the National Finals in April.

For more information about Drive, Chip and Putt, visit DriveChipandPutt.com.

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