Four months ago, three Coloradans — Luke Trujillo, Arielle Keating and Caitlyn Chin — lived the dream of competing at Augusta National by advancing to the 2016 Drive, Chip and Putt national finals on the eve of the Masters.
On Saturday at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora, 16 junior golfers — including 15 from Colorado — kept their hopes alive of doing what Trujillo, Keating and Chin did in the spring.
The top two finishers in each of eight divisions at Saturday’s DC&P Sub-Regional Qualifier earned spots in the Regional Qualifying, set for Sept. 24 at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. And from there, the top performer in each division will punch their tickets to the 2017 national finals April 2 at Augusta National.
Among those still in the running for a 2017 trip to Augusta is Chin, a Greenwood Village resident who on Saturday finished second in the girls 7-9 division at CommonGround. She placed 10th in the national finals in that same division four months ago.
Here are all those who will advance to Riviera, with their points from each of the three skills on Saturday (drive, chip and putt) — and their total.
Girls 7-9 — 1. Livia Pett, Denver 16-46-37–99; Caitlyn Chin, Greenwood Village 23-31-36–90.
Girls 10-11 — 1. Rylee Salome, Los Lunas, N.M. 31-30-45–106; 2. Brooke Hudson, Parker 26-26-51–103.
Girls 12-13 — 1. Katelyn Lehigh, Loveland 43-36-55–134; 2. Sofia Choi, Littleton 34-45-50–129.
Girls 14-15 — 1. Gracie Olkowski, Grand Junction 52-55-55–162; 2. Marie Jordaan, Cherry Hills Village 44-50-45–139.
Boys 7-9 — 1. Landon Houska, Fort Collins 16-45-45–106; 2. Preston Brooke, Arvada 22-31-50–103 (second-place tiebreaker based on putting score).
Boys 10-11 — 1. Matai Naqica, Centennial 47-22-45–114; 2. Benjamin Starr, Cherry Hills Village 26-31-55–112.
Boys 12-13 — 1. Jake Chesler, Firestone 27-55-50–132; 2. Ben Harding, Longmont 35-40-50–125 (second-place tiebreaker based on putting score).
Boys 14-15 — 1. Jack Hughes, Aspen 55-40-50–145; 2. Davis Long, Lafayette 52-45-42–139.
All the players noted above have now advanced through both Local and Sub-Regional qualifying events.
Back in Regionals for the second straight year after competing at CommonGround will be Houska, Chin and Salome.
Each participant in the DC&P is awarded points for each skill based on his or her performance, with the points added together for an overall score.
In all, 40 boys and 40 girls will compete in the national finals of the Drive, Chip and Putt Championships, which are sponsored by the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America. The competition is limited to players 7-15.
For all the scores from Saturday, CLICK HERE.
