Juniors show off golf skills with visions of Augusta National
More than 110 junior golfers ages 6-15 descended upon Legends Golf Resort on Tuesday with dreams of competing at Augusta National Golf Club next April.
Fourteen of the 23 competitors who advanced in the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship local qualifier at the club’s driving range and short-game practice area were residents of the Grand Strand.
The top three finishers in each of eight age and gender divisions will advance to a sub-regional Aug. 27 at Fort Jackson Golf Club outside Columbia, with a chance to advance to a Sept. 4 regional qualifier at Pinehurst Resort (N.C.).
Regional winners in each age and gender division qualify for the finals at Augusta National on April 2, 2017, the Sunday before the 81st Masters Tournament.
Drive, Chip & Putt is a joint grow-the-game initiative founded in 2013 by the Masters Tournament, United States Golf Association and PGA of America, and the local qualifier was run by representatives of the Carolinas PGA and Legends Resort’s professional staff.
Qualifiers included Walker Devers of Murrells Inlet and Christopher Pacyna of Myrtle Beach in the Boys 14-15 division; Brianna Rau of Myrtle Beach (Girls 14-15); Braeden Barnett of Galivants Ferry and Nathaniel Brown of North Myrtle Beach (Boys 12-13); Mia Gray of Conway (Girls 12-13); Forrest Eddy of Longs (Boys 10-11); Eleanor Brown of Myrtle Beach, Riley Smith and Sarah Devers of Murrrells Inlet (Girls 10-11); Ajay Cullen of Myrtle Beach (Boys 7-9); and Madison Messimer of Myrtle Beach, Lily Osborne of Conway and Lilly Reaves of Conway (Girls 7-9).
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Qualifiers advancing to sub-regional
Girls 7-9: Madison Messimer, Myrtle Beach 67; Lily Osborne, Conway 65; Lilly Reaves, Conway 49.
Boys 7-9: Chase Duncan, Raleigh, NC 94; Ajay Cullen, Myrtle Beach 94; Luke Parsons, Salley 91.
Girls 10-11: Eleanor Brown, Myrtle Beach 65; Riley Smith, Myrtle Beach 63; Sarah Devers, Murrrells Inlet 63.
Boys 10-11: Samuel Dieffenbauch, Wilmington, NC 89; Forrest Eddy, Longs 88; Drew Hedgecoe, Fayetteville, NC 87.
Girls 12-13: Mia Gray, Conway 84; Brenna Miller, Dillon 79; Lindley Cox, Hampstead, NC 77.
Boys 12-13: Braeden Barnett, Galivants Ferry, 100; Ryder Bessette, Holly Springs, NC 94; Nathaniel Brown, North Myrtle Beach, 89.
Girls 14-15: Annie Anderson, New Bern, NC 86; Brianna Rau, Myrtle Beach 63.
Boys 14-15: Walker Devers, Murrells Inlet 135; Christopher Pacyna, Myrtle Beach 129; Hinson Perry, Rock Hill 119.
This story was originally published July 12, 2016 at 9:05 PM with the headline "Juniors show off golf skills with visions of Augusta National."