Chin was one of 16 junior golfers who qualified on Saturday at Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora for DCP Regionals. Regionals mark the third of four qualifying stages for DCP, and it’s where the winners of each age/gender division earn spots in the Nationals in Augusta, Ga.

Chin competed in the girls 7-9 division at Augusta National in 2016, and now she’s in the 10-11 group. She won that division in Saturday’s Sub-Regional at Murphy Creek and will book a trip to Regionals, which are set for Sept. 29 at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, site of this month’s PGA Championship. The winners of each age/gender division there will land a spot in the DCP National Championship, scheduled for April 7 at Augusta National.

Also among those advancing to Regionals on Saturday at Murphy Creek was Matai Naqica of Centennial, who recently won the boys 11-13 Junior Series Championship conducted by the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado. Naqica prevailed for the boys 12-13 Sub-Regional title on Saturday with an impressive point total of 177 — the best of the day in any division.

The qualfiers from Murphy Creek join those from Thorncreek Golf Course in Thornton, who punched their Regional tickets on Aug. 18.

Twelve of those who advanced on Saturday are from Colorado, while 14 from the Thorncreek competition are.

Those who have competed the last two weekends had already advanced from Local Qualifying as eight such events were held in Colorado this year, including one during U.S. Senior Open week at The Broadmoor Golf Club earlier this summer.

Last year, Kaden Ford of Colorado Springs became the fourth Coloradan ever to compete in the nationally-televised DCP National Championship. He finished sixth in the boys 14-15 division.

In DCP competitions, contestants score points in each discipline — driving, chipping and putting — which are added together for a cumulative total.

In all, 40 boys and 40 girls will compete in the Nationals of the DCP, which is sponsored by the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America. The competition is limited to players 7-15.

Here are the Drive Chip & Putt Regional Qualifiers from the Murphy Creek GC Sub-Regional on Saturday:

Score: Drive-Chip-Putt=Total

Boys 7-9
Shea Clanton, Lincoln, Neb. 18-41-50–109
Ryan Fenton, Colorado Springs 17-35-55–107

Boys 10-11
Steven Suges, Grapevine, Texas 37-45-46–128
Miles Kuhl, Boulder 22-45-40–107

Boys 12-13
Matai Naqica, Centennial 52-55-70–177
Trevor Gutschewski, Elkhorn, Neb. 44-50-46–140

Boys 14-15
Maxwell Lange, Golden 61-50-50–161
Ben Harding, Longmont 38-45-65–148

Girls 7-9
Annabel Roy, Denver 8-22-55–85
Adrielle Miller, Highlands Ranch 11-19-41–71

Girls 10-11
Caitlyn Chin, Greenwood Village 34-40-52–126
Taylor Hale, Eagle 36-40-42–118

Girls 12-13
Chunya Boonta, Centennial 33-50-22–105
Madeline Bante, Denver 32-21-41–94

Girls 14-15
Lauren Thiele, Wahoo, Neb. 20-55-60–135
Elle Higgins, Centennial 39-40-36–115

For all the results from Murphy Creek, CLICK HERE.

Here were the qualifiers from last weekend at Thorncreek:

Boys 7-9
“¨Benjamin Pederson, Arvada 20-35-55–110″¨
Grady Ortiz, Colorado Springs 20-31-45–96″¨”¨

Boys 10-11
“¨Gregory White, Centennial 31-40-50–121″¨
Jake Dost, Parker 39-35-47–121

Boys 12-13
“¨Reese Knox, Peyton 45-45-42–132
“¨Carter Surofchek, Colorado Springs 32-40-45–117

Boys 14-15
“¨Jackson Rottschafer, Centennial 47-45-60–152″¨
Matthew Wilkinson, Centennial 47-37-60–144

Girls 7-9
“¨Jadie Wilson, Denver 17-3-60–80″¨
Amalei Lagrimas, Castle Rock 18-26-36–80

Girls 10-11
“¨Emmalee Johnson, Denver 18-18-60–96″¨
Addison Hines, Arvada 21-11-60–92

Girls 12-13
“¨Ali Mulhall, Mesquite Nevada 44-23-55–122″¨
Rylee Salome, Los Lunas, N.M. 36-30-45–111

Girls 14-15
“¨Sofia Choi, Littleton 52-45-60–157
“¨Grace Ha, Greenwood Village 40-31-60–131
 

Peruse the list of winners for the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s Junior Series Championship, and it’s an impressive group.

There’s Jennifer Kupcho, a three-time champ, who won the Women’s NCAA Division I individual title in May.

There’s Elizabeth Wang, who earlier this week advanced to the round of 16 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

And there’s Coby Welch, who just finished second in the CGA Amateur and who will be playing in next week’s U.S. Amateur along with another Junior Series winner, AJ Ott.

The kids who won Junior Series Championships on Saturday can look at those names on the trophy (left) and dream of having similar success in years to come.

“That’s amazing how those players won this,” said Hadley Ashton of Erie, who captured the girls 11-13 title on Saturday. “I think about that, but I try to stay in the moment and win as many as I can. I try to get better as I get older because the competition gets harder.”

Among the six champions on Saturday — two each in three age groups — was one (Andre Dumonteil of Centennial, left) who became just the fifth player to win three Junior Series titles, regardless of age, joining Kupcho, Welch, Somin Lee and Ashleigh Wilson.

Another champ, Traejan Andrews of Windsor, became the 10th player to win two or more Junior Series Championships.

And another, Ashton, claimed the 11-13 Junior Series title despite being just 10 years old.

All told, the following six players earned championships:

14-18 tournament at Eaton County Club — Andrews (boys), Jessica Mason of Westminster (girls).

11-13 tournament at Eaton CC — Matai Naqica of Centennial (boys), Ashton (girls).

10 and under tournament at Heather Gardens Golf Course in Aurora — Dumonteil (boys), Taylor Hale of Eagle (girls).

Here’s the breakdown:

Ashton, Naqica Rule 11-13: Ashton won’t turn 11 until next month, but you’d never know it by the way she’s dominated the competition in the 11-13 Junior Series this year. Including Saturday, she’s won 12 times in 14 tournaments.

At Eaton Country Club, Ashton shot back-to-back rounds of 78 for a 14-over-par 156 total. That gave her a four-stroke victory the year after she placed third in the 11-13 tournment as a nine-year-old.

“This means a lot,” said Ashton, who will start sixth grade at Erie Middle School this coming week. “I’ve always wanted to win this one, especially when I started in the 10 and unders. This means a lot to do it as a 10 year old in the 11-13 Series.”

In her own age division, Ashton (below) has fared very well this summer in major national and international tournaments, finishing fifth in the girls 9-10 division at the IMG Academy Junior World Championships, and 12th among 10-year-old girls at the U.S. Kids World Championship.

“It’s definitely been a special summer,” she said. “The thing I’m most proud of is finishing fifth at IMGs because it was really hard competition. And I’m also really proud of winning these (Junior Series) tournaments.”

Placing second in the girls 11-13 competition on Saturday was Kaitlin Zingler of Lakewood, who finished four behind Ashton after a second-round 79.

In the boys 11-13 tournament, Naqica (pictured above with Ashton) started the day five shots out of the lead and wasn’t helping his cause much through 13 holes as he stood 2 over par for the day. But then things changed in a hurry.

The 12-year-old put together a torrid stretch where he went 5 under par in four holes, going eagle-birdie-birdie-birdie. He holed a 70-yard shot with a wedge for his eagle on the par-5 14th, then sank birdie putts of 10, 3 and 3 feet on the next three holes.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever had a stretch like that,” Naqica said. “That gave me a lot of confidence.”

Despite a bogey on his final hole, he shot a 2-under-par 69 — the lowest round of the tournament — and won by two with a 4-over-par 146 total.

Naqica wasn’t expecting to have a chance to prevail on Saturday after trailing by five shots after the first round. But that back-nine stretch worked wonders.

“I was expecting to come in third or second today,” he said after his fourth victory of the JGAC season.

And it was certainly a big-time improvement on how he fared last year in this event.

“I came in second-to-last last year at Fox Hill with a 92 and an 87, so this is great,” he said.

Three players shared second place among the 11-13 boys on Saturday — first-round leader Max Weisser of Denver, Andrew White of Centennial and Blake Sullivan fo Castle Pines.

White played his final seven holes in 5 under par, making four straight birdies starting on No. 14.

Andrews, Mason Prevail in 14-18: Andrews, a member of the Hale Irwin Player Program at CommonGround Golf Course, suffered a frustrating loss in last year’s 11-13 Junior Series Championship as he three-putted the first playoff hole. But he gained some redemption on Saturday with his victory in the boys 14-18 tournament.

Andrews (pictured at left with Mason) shot a 1-over-par 72 on Saturday to post a 5-over 147 total, good for a three-stroke win, his second of the JGAC season.

“Of course it feels really good, for sure” after what happened in 2017, the 14-year-old said. “I just stayed more calm this year.”

Helping the cause on Friday was driving the 303-yard 12th green and two-putting from 10 feet for birdie. He also two-putted for another birdie at the par-5 16th.

It’s been a good week for Andrews, who won his first high school tournament by eight shots on Thursday as a freshman for Northridge.

“My friends were sending me screen shots of the (high school) rankings board,” he noted. “I was like, ‘Dude, it’s one tournament.'”

As noted, Saturday marked Andrews second Junior Series victory, having won in the 10-and-under ranks in 2014.

“It’s definitely special,” he said of the accomplishment.

Maxwell Lange of Golden finished runner-up in the nine-player field, closing with a 74 for a 150 total.

On the girls side in 14-18, Mason went wire-to-wire for a seven-stroke victory.

The 14-year-old freshman-to-be at Holy Family High School posted a final-round 84 for a 164 total.

“It means a lot,” Mason said after her third victory of the JGAC season. “I didn’t play great, but it’s still a good opportunity to win.”

Mason has only been playing golf to any significant extent for two years, so to win the Junior Series title is no small feat. And it was her first time playing in this event, no less.

“This year was when I said, ‘OK, let’s start doing it.'” she said of tournament golf. “I’ve come a long way” in two years.

Finishing second Saturday was Amira Badruddin of Parker, who carded a second-round 83 for a 171 total.

3-Peat for Dumonteil, Title for Hale in 10 and Under: A year after Wilson became the first person to win three straight titles in the Junior Series 10 and under Championship, Dumonteil posted a three-peat of his own.

He won last year’s title in this event by six strokes, and nearly matched that margin on Saturday at Heather Gardens. Dumonteil shot a 3-under-par 63, good for a five-shot win.

The 10-year-old made an eagle, four birdies (including three straight) and three bogeys on the day.

It was the ninth win of the JGAC season for Dumonteil.

Ross Miller of Highlands Ranch placed second at 68 after a three-birdie day.

In the girls 10 and under tournament, Hale (left) fired a 7-over-par 73 and recorded a one-stroke win. The 10-year-old made three birdies on Saturday.

It was Hale’s third victory of 2018 in JGAC tournaments.

Livia Pett of Denver was runner-up at 74.

For scores from Junior Series Championships, click on the following: 11-13, 14-18, 10 & Under.

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.
 

At least assuming no alternates get into the field.

Fifteen Coloradans competed Saturday in regional qualifying at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., but none won his or her age division — which was what was necessary to qualify for the finals, which will be held at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia on April 2.

This marks the third time in the four years of the DC&P Championships that Coloradans have been shut out of the finals. But three in-state junior golfers — Luke Trujillo, Arielle Keating and Caitlyn Chin — went to nationals this past spring.

Here were the Coloradans who had the highest finishes Saturday at regionals:

— Landon Houska of Fort Collins, playing in regionals for the second straight year, finished second in the boys 7-9 division, seven points behind national qualifier Carter Gaede.

— Matai Naqica of Centennial tied for second in the boys 10-11 division, 10 points behind national qualifier Liam Hartling.

— Jake Chesler of Firestone placed second in the boys 12-13 division, 14 points behind national qualifier Evan Chien.

— Gracie Olkowski of Grand Junction finished third in the girls 14-15 division, 38 points behind national qualifier Megan Ahmadi.

Here’s how all the Coloradans fared on Saturday, with their points from each of the three skills (drive, chip and putt) — and their total.

Boys 7-9 — 2. Landon Houska, Fort Collins 32-23-50–105; 7. Preston Brooke, Arvada 27-4-36–67.

Boys 10-11 — T2. Matai Naqica, Centennial 48-22-37–107; 5. Benjamin Starr, Cherry Hills Village 27-17-50–94.

Boys 12-13 — 2. Jake Chesler, Firestone 58-30-45–133; 9. Ben Harding, Longmont 11-26-60–97.

Boys 14-15 — 4. Jack Hughes, Aspen 52-27-45–124; 6. Davis Long, Lafayette 35-31-51–117.

Girls 7-9 — 6. Caitlyn Chin, Greenwood Village 6-19-41–66; 7. Livia Pett, Denver 13-7-40–60.

Girls 10-11 — 10. Brooke Hudson, Parker 0-12-26–38.

Girls 12-13 — 6. Katelyn Lehigh, Loveland 32-2-45–79; 7. Sofia Choi, Littleton 27-19-30–76.

Girls 14-15 — 3. Gracie Olkowski, Grand Junction 41-22-60–123; 7. Marie Jordaan, Cherry Hills Village 43-14-32–89.

For all the results from the regional qualifying at Riviera, CLICK HERE.

All the regional competitors advanced through both local and sub-regional qualifying events.

In all, 40 boys and 40 girls will compete in the national finals of the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship, which is sponsored by the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America. The competition is limited to players 7-15.