The requirement for the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals has always been accuracy and precision. And 11-year-old Owen Zaragoza can do all that. After all, he is one of 80 juniors who will be at Augusta National Golf Club competing on Sunday in the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals.
But don’t let that fool you. Owen can hit all the shots. Just let him tell you about the one he pulled off at his house in Boise, Idaho.
“I tried to hit a big hook shot around a tree,” Owen said earlier this week. “And I did. Then it bounced off the shed. Then it hit our fence. Then it went in the hole on the practice green in the backyard.”
With his father, Adam, his mother, Anna, and his twin sister, Abby, Owen made the trip – Boise to Denver to Savannah to Augusta – thanks to an 18-point win at the regional qualifying site.
That regional qualifying site? Pebble Bech Golf Links.
“Anybody we talk to at home is like ‘You went to Pebble Beach?’” Adam Zaragoza said. “It’s like ‘yeah.’ Then they say ‘Now you’re going to Augusta National?’ And we say ‘yeah.’ I don’t know how you top that.”
The Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals, which will be televised on Golf Channel from 8 a.m.-1 p.m., is conducted in partnership with the Masters Tournament, USGA and PGA of America. It features boys and girls ages 7-15 across four different age divisions. The skills competition features accuracy in driving, chipping and putting.
So how did Owen get so good? Well, it started with a set of plastic clubs given to him by his grandmother.
“He just ran around in the backyard or chased the dog around the house with them,” Adam said.
What about the accuracy? Where did that come from? Well, there’s a story there.
When Owen couldn’t find the plastic golf balls or the dog ran off with them, he improvised by hitting pine cones at Abby, the twin sister he is 2 minutes older than.
“Yeah,” Owen says sheepishly when asked if the story is true.
Adam, with a laugh combined with a sigh, admits the story is accurate.
“Yes, he was hitting pine cones at his twin sister,” Adam said.
There was always a stick in his hand with a ball.
No one in the family has been to Augusta National before.
“It’s all a little surreal,” Anna said. “At the same time, we have to remember he’s only 11. Fun is the first and foremost thing in our mind in all of this. We’re so proud of him.”
Abby is proud of him, too.
“It’s pretty cool to see him do this,” she said.
Owen said he loves to practice and works most on his chipping at the practice green in the backyard back in Boise. Neither Adam nor Anna ever push him to go work on his game.
“That’s something Anna and I have always said,” Adam said. “If he wants to do it, he goes and does it. We won’t ever force anything on him. We won’t force practice or any sport on him or his sister. We’ll let them guide it and then we’re there to support it. That’s the approach we’ve taken.”
It’s worked, because Owen is at Augusta National.
Each member of the family has something they want to do, something they want to see. For Owen, it’s the putting portion, when he gets to step onto the 18th green at Augusta National.
“That’ll be super-fun,” Owen said.
Adam agrees.
“It’s just going to be a priceless moment we won’t ever forget,” Adam said.
Owen hopes he runs into some of the players who will be arriving in preparation for the 90th Masters Tournament. He says Collin Morikawa is his favorite player. He hopes to see defending champion Rory McIlroy and two-time champion Scottie Scheffler, as well.
“I want to see the pros,” Owen said.
Maybe when I’m practicing I’ll get to practice next to one of them.
On Monday, after the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals, the family will stick around to watch as those professionals prepare for the Tournament. While Adam and Owen can’t wait to wander down to Amen Corner, Abby has her eyes on a Georgia Peach Ice Cream Sandwich. Anna is locked in on perhaps the most famous delicacy at the Masters Tournament.
“I am getting excited to get a Pimento Cheese Sandwich,” Anna said. “Both my parents are from the South and it’s something I grew up knowing so I am interested in seeing how they do theirs.”
