The Masters Tournament taps into history as few other events can. Gene Sarazen’s famed double-eagle at the 15th hole in 1935, Arnold Palmer’s arrival at Augusta National Golf Club coinciding with the debut of television cameras, Jack Nicklaus’ six Green Jackets, record-setting performances by Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth ... all are integral parts of rich Masters lore.
With its history well looked after, the Masters Tournament joined in a bold initiative with the United States Golf Association and PGA of America that gave a nod to the future, creating the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship. It’s time to place another candle on the cake with the competition’s National Finals turning 5 this Sunday, once again setting an important tone as an inspiring lead-in to Masters week.
Eighty boys and girls ranging in ages from 7 to 15 and representing 30 U.S. states and one Canadian province will gather on Sunday to compete in four age divisions for national championships. Players accumulate points in three skills rewarding distance for drives and proximity for chipping and putting. The highest total composite score determines the winner.
Twelve DCP national finalists have appeared previously, including three players competing for a third time: Megha Ganne, 14, of Holmdel, N.J.; Vanessa Borovilos, 11, from Toronto; and Treed Huang, 13, of Katy, Texas. Huang won the Boys 7-9 division in 2014; his younger sister, Maye, captured the Girls 7-9 division last spring. (A year ago, there was only one three-time participant, Alexa Pano.)
Sundays at Augusta National once were relatively sleepy affairs, with a sprinkling of members and early-arriving players scattered around the course before Masters week started officially on Monday. For the past four years, Augusta National has been host to a completely different scene. Young competitors are hitting tee shots on the expansive Tournament Practice Facility and standing over downhill putts on the famed 18th green, where their heroes will be standing one week later with Masters history on the line.
In introducing the concept of the DCP in 2013, Chairman Emeritus Billy Payne said, “We all share the belief that if we can make golf fun, kids will come.” More than 30 past competitors of the DCP are either playing in college or have future commitments to play.
The event has been wildly successful, with competitors taking part in 10 regional qualifiers to try to earn their way to the 2018 National Finals. Those events were staged at some of the most iconic golf venues in the country, including such U.S. Open/PGA Championship sites as Olympic Club, Pinehurst, Winged Foot, Southern Hills and Interlachen.
To advance to regionals, competitors began in local qualifying staged at more than 260 sites across the United States last May, June and July. The top three boys and girls finishers in each of the four age divisions then moved on to 50 sub-regional qualifiers in July and August. Two juniors from each age and gender division from sub-regionals then competed at the regional level in September and October, with winners in each division advancing to Augusta National.
“We all share the belief that if we can make golf fun, kids will come.”
-Chairman Emeritus Billy Payne
As always, there are some great stories behind the competitors at the National Finals. Allyn Stephens (Girls 12-13), is still awaiting final repairs to her Houston home after rains from Hurricane Harvey flooded it last summer; Thaxton Cheyne (Boys 7-9, Canton, Ga.), was pretty much born into golf. He had a mural of Augusta National’s 12th hole in his nursery. He practices daily alongside his best friend, Patton Malcolm, who qualified in the Boys 10-11 division.
Katherine Schuster (Girls 14-15, Kill Devil Hills, N.C.) aspires to be a beekeeper and a pilot, she says, “so I can fly myself to tournaments one day like Arnold Palmer and Peggy Kirk Bell.” Avery Zweig (Girls 10-11, McKinney, Texas) founded the Win Green Campaign to fight childhood cancer, leading a campaign that has raised $250,000 through pledges and in-kind donations.
Beyond the stories is the incredible Sunday visual: Masters champions such as Gary Player, Nick Faldo, Adam Scott and Bubba Watson walking the grounds to greet children who aspire to be like them one day as they compete on television amid the historic hills and towering pines of Augusta National.
As he roamed the grounds during the inaugural Finals, Mark O’Meara, the 1998 Masters champion, marveled at what he was viewing. “What Chairman (Billy) Payne and the people have done here is incredible,” he said.
The champions enjoyed watching almost as much as the youths enjoyed participating. Many echo the sentiments of Kelly Xu, who in 2014 won the Girls 7-9 division and said, “This is the best day of my life.”
The National Finals will be televised live on Golf Channel Sunday beginning at 8 a.m.
