Sixteen junior golfers, including Colorado Junior Match Play girls champion Emma Bryant of Aurora, earned spots into Regional Qualifying for the Drive, Chip & Putt Championhip by virtue of their performances Saturday in a Sub-Regional at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora.
The top two finishers in each of eight divisions on Saturday punched their tickets to the Regionals, set for Sept. 16 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. From there, the top finisher in each division will make it to the 2018 National Championship, set for April 4 at Augusta National Golf Club, site of the Masters.
Bryant tied for high points Saturday in the girls 14-15 division with Alyssa Chin, with both advancing.
Another player who moved on Saturday, Matai Naqica of Centennial, has now made it to the DCP Regionals two straight years in the boys 10-11 division. He had by far the high point total in that division on Saturday.
This year, for the first time, a second Sub-Regional will be held in Colorado, this one next Saturday (Aug. 19) at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Westminster.
In three of the first four years the DCP has been held, zero Coloradans made it to Nationals, But three in-state junior golfers — Luke Trujillo, Arielle Keating and Caitlyn Chin — went to Nationals in the spring of 2016.
Players who make it to Nationals have to advance through Local, Sub-Regional and Regional Qualifying.
In all, 40 boys and 40 girls will compete in the Nationals of the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship, which is sponsored by the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America. The competition is limited to players 7-15.
Each participant in the DCP is awarded points for each skill based on his or her performance, with the points added together for an overall score.
Here are all those who will advance to Southern Hills, with their points from each of the three skills on Saturday (drive, chip and putt) — and their total — at CommonGround.
Drive Chip & Pub Sub-Regional
Aug. 12, 2017 at CommonGround GC in Aurora
ADVANCE TO REGIONALS
(Drive-Chip-Putt–Total)
Boys 14-15
Joshua Gallegos 57-55-55–167
Kaden Ford 61-45-40–146
Girls 14-15
Alyssa Chin 31-55-60–146
Emma Bryant 51-40-55–146
Boys 12-13
Riley Stephens 42-55-55–152
Brian Knapp 36-3-55–122
Girls 12-13
Kaylee Chen 54-55-36–145
Avery Sky 38-37-55–130
Boys 10-11
Matai Naqica 50-60-60–170
Mason Smith 31-45-45–121
Girls 10-11
Callia Ward 26-60-60–146
Lillian McDermott 30-45-50–125
Boys 7-9
Collen Todd 28-45-31–104
Santiago Liberto 16-30-46–92
Girls 7-9
Eleanor Warden 23-40-50–113
Allie Smith 11-55-45–111
For all the scores from Saturday, CLICK HERE.
