Eighty finalists have been named for the 2018 Drive, Chip and Putt national finals, all of whom will tee it up at Augusta National Golf Club next spring with hopes of winning a national championship.
The last of 10 regional qualifiers was conducted on Saturday, filling out the field of junior golfers who will compete Sunday, April 1 in advance of the Masters. Each regional will send their champion from each of the eight age brackets: Girls 7-9, Girls 10-11, Girls 12-13, Girls 14-15, Boys 7-9, Boys 10-11, Boys 12-13 and Boys 14-15.
The group of qualifiers includes representatives from 30 different states and one Canadian province, and it also features three finalists who will be returning to Augusta National for the third time. Treed Huang won the Boys 7-9 division in 2014 and returned last year, while Vanessa Borovilos qualified in 2015 and 2016 and Megha Ganne qualified in 2015 and 2017.
Local qualifying for the free event began in May at more than 260 sites across the U.S. Top scorers from each site then advanced to sub-regional qualifiers, followed by regional qualifiers that were conducted over the last six weeks.
Participants were given an opportunity to hit three shots per skill, with points awarded for distance and accuracy (driving) as well as proximity (chipping and putting). The player in each age group that accumulated the most points across his or her nine shots at regional qualifying earned a trip to Augusta National, where scoring will be based on a 30-point system.
The national finals will be broadcast live on Golf Channel for the sixth straight year since the inception of the event, which was developed in partnership between the Masters Tournament, USGA and PGA of America. Here’s a look at the qualifiers in each age group:
Source: Internet
