This Myrtle Beach golfer will be competing at Augusta on national television Sunday
Gavin Hutchinson has had to wait a year longer than he anticipated, but he’s scheduled to make his competitive debut at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday, just a few days before the Masters Tournament is played there.
He is in the the finals of the 2019-20 Drive, Chip & Putt Championship, and the competition will air live on Golf Channel from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.
Friends and family gathered at Indigo Creek Golf Club on March 13 as a congratulations and sendoff for Gavin, the youngest son of Indigo Creek partner Chuck Hutchinson.
He won the boys age 12-13 division of a regional qualifier at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, to become the first junior from the Grand Strand to qualify or the finals in the six years of the competition. He has participated all six years, and had to advance through three levels of qualifying to reach the championship.
Organizers of the Drive, Chip & Putt include Augusta National, the United States Golf Association and PGA of America. They canceled the 2020-21 competition because of the coronavirus pandemic, so all finalists will compete in the age division for which they qualified in 2019. The nationwide youth golf development initiative is for boys and girls ages 7-15.
The competition is determined by the aggregate score of three drives, three chips and three putts, with a maximum of 75 points in each category.
Golf Channel interviewed Gavin after his regional win and the interview aired on the network’s Morning Drive show.
