In between the prestigious Augusta National Women’s Amateur and The Masters came another notable event to be held at Augusta National – the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals.
The competition saw some of the best junior golfers compete at the famous Georgia venue as they demonstrated their abilities in driving, chipping and putting.
The golfers who made it as far as the National Finals earned their places following hundreds of events around the US, with boys and girls categories in age groups of 7-9, 10-11, 12-13 and 14-15.
There, the 10 players in each competition followed the likes of two-time PGA Tour winner Akshay Bhatia, another PGA Tour player, Michael Thorbjornsen, and LPGA Tour pros Lucy Li and Gina Kim as competitors in the National Finals.
Each player had two drives, two chips and two putts in the competition, with points awarded for each shot.
In the Girls 7-9 category, Ellie Kim from Danville, California took the overall title by the narrowest of margins, beating Lockport, Illinois golfer Brielle Downer in a putt-off, with Ellie’s decisive putt finishing an inch closer to the hole than her opponent and sparking tears of joy when her name was announced as the winner.
This is what it's all about! #DriveChipandPutt pic.twitter.com/3o4JriPwGeApril 6, 2025
In the Boys 7-9 category, the honor went to Missouri’s Joshua Hooper, who beat Virginian Lucas Dunaway by one point.
In the Girls 10-11 category, Florida’s Bella Simoes, who attempted to qualify for the 2023 US Women's Open as a nine-year-old, claimed a comfortable victory, finishing on 24 points, five clear of nearest challenger Penelope Philip from Tennessee. In the same age group for the boys, Dawson Dial of Texas also won by five over Logan Wilde of Utah.
In the Girls 12-13 category, Alexandra Phung of Forest Hills, New York, beat West Vancouver’s Jenny Guo by two, while in the Boys category, Hudson Justus of Gainesville, Georgia became the eighth player in the competition’s history to make both putts in the National Finals on the way to winning, finishing five clear of Pittsburgh’s Niko Ameredes.
That left just the Girls and Boys 14-15 categories, and for the girls, it was Wisconsin player Abigail Henriksen who took the honors, finishing on 21 points, two ahead of Iowa’s Chloe Perfect.
Utah’s Blake Brown then had the honor of concluding the competition with his two putts, and his second attempt gave the National Finals its 23rd made putt, but it wasn’t quite enough to prevent California’s Anthony Wu claiming the overall title after his first putt finished one foot from the hole and he made his second. Brown finished T2 with New York’s Tommy Goodelle.
Smooth like butter 🧈Anthony Wu moves into the Boys 14-15 lead with this great stroke. #DriveChipandPutt pic.twitter.com/c6eiIbiwB7April 6, 2025
The winning players from each category, along with those finishing second and third, each won trophies for their achievements, while trophies were also handed out to those who finished first in each individual skill.
However, the experience of playing at Augusta National is likely something that will stay with each of the national finalists for a long time to come, while they also got to meet some of the game’s greats, including Annika Sorenstam, Bernhard Langer, Sir Nick Faldo and Scottie Scheffler, who were among those on hand to present trophies.
Scheffler attended just four days before he gets the defence of his Masters title underway, and he expressed what it meant to him to perform the role for the first time as a parent.
Being a part of #DriveChipandPutt National Finals just hits different for Scottie Scheffler now that he's a father ❤️ pic.twitter.com/4AoVwftLjcApril 6, 2025
He told the Golf Channel: “I can definitely relate to the parents a lot more this time around. I don’t think you can really understand the feeling until you become a parent for the first time but it’s a lot of fun to be able to come here and support the kids.”
