The second annual Drive Chip  & Putt Championship was held on 05 April 2015. This new tradition at the Masters sees 80 young talented golfers pitting their skills against each other and Augusta National. As I watch these budding superstars perform, I was amazed at their composure, understanding of golf, and sportsmanship! For a list of all the results check out the interactive leaderboard. Well done to all the competitors!

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The 2015 Drive, Chip and Putt Championship is open to boys and girls ages 7-15. Boys and girls will compete in separate divisions in four age categories: 7-9 years old; 10-11 years old; 12-13 years old; and 14-15 years old. There is a list of other criteria to be eligible and you can find the here. Needless to say, some of these young guns know how to play golf!

If you think that getting to this national event is easy, here is what each player has to do in 2015. Past winners are not invited back, they have to qualify each year. The 2015 Drive, Chip and Putt Championship will be conducted in four stages:

• Local qualifying – to be conducted throughout May, June, July and August 2015 at 253 sites in 50 states.
• Subregional qualifying – to be conducted throughout July and August, 2015 at 51 sites.
• Regional qualifying – to be conducted throughout September, 2015 at 10 sites.
• Championship final – to be conducted Sunday, April 3, 2016 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.

As the name indicates, each player competes in each event Drive, Chip and Putt. They each have two balls for each skill and their results area accumulative to select a winner. Perfect score is 30 points over the three events. Besides having the pressure of competing against 9 other great players, the event was set at the historical Augusta National Golf Course; what a thrill!

During the Drive portion, the players had two chances to hit the ball within a grid that was 40-yard fairway width, length from 75 yards to 325 yards. The longest drive to stay within the grid was their score. I amazed to see that one of the 12-13 year old players could hit the ball 240+. The longest of the day was by a 15-year-old boy – 280+ yards!

Chipping was all about feel. Each player stood about 25 yards from the hole and chipped two balls. The winner had the lowest accumulative distances from the hole. Chipping in gave you a distance of 0. The best accumulative score for the girls was 4’1″ (chipped one in) and by a 9-year-old boy of 7’1″ (chipped one in). I enjoyed watching some of the young players adjust their something between the first and second shot.

Putting was fun to watch and the most challenging event. Each player putted one ball for two different locations. The first was a long uphill putt and the second was a much shorter downhill skater! The speed of the greens was a challenge and adjusting from an uphill to downhill putt proved to be challenging for some of the players! The best accumulative score for the girls was 6″ by a 9-year-old! The best accumulative score for the boys was 2’1″. Interestingly, quite a few of the young players putted cross-handed.

Many of the past Masters champions, like Bubba Watson and Mark O’Meara, were on hand to talk, cheer, and laugh with the young players. Having these great players on hand only added to the overall success of this national event. I enjoyed watching the future of golf. These young players demonstrated that anyone, at any age is capable of playing great golf. Congratulations to all the participants.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!