Ford, who on Saturday became just the fourth Coloradan ever to qualify for the DC&P Nationals, is a high school golf teammate of defending 4A state individual champion Luke Trujillo, who went to the Nationals at Augusta in the spring of 2016.

That should give Ford some insights.

The high school freshman overcame the DC&P Regional Qualifying hurdle on Saturday at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

With just the winner — out of 10 competitors — in each age/gender division of the Regionals advancing to Nationals on April 1, 2018, Ford won the Boys 14-15 competition. He scored 67 points in the drive portion of the contest, 17 in the chipping and 55 in the putting. That gave him 139 points overall, three more than runner-up Carsen Silliman.

The only other Coloradans who have made it to DC&P Nationals in the first five years of the competition are Trujillo, Arielle Keating and Caitlyn Chin, all of whom went in April of 2016. The Nationals are televised from Augusta by the Golf Channel.

Ford had to survive Local, Sub-Regional and Regional Qualifying to advance. In the Sub-Regional at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora last month, he finished second to Joshua Gallegos of Belen, N.M.

Ford was one of 20 Colorado residents who were competing in the Regionals at Southern Hills. None of the others advanced to Nationals, but here’s how all 20 fared on Saturday, with their scores and placing (Note: The top finisher in each division advances to Nationals. Points are for Drive-Chip-Putt–Total):

Boys 14-15
1. (out of 10 competitors) Kaden Ford of Colorado Springs 67-17-55–139
4. Hunter Khan of Highlands Ranch 42-13-65–120
8. Joshua Stouder of Grand Junction 42-13-36–91

Girls 14-15
3. (out of 10 competitors) Emma Bryant of Aurora 56-17-31–104
4. Alyssa Chin of Greenwood Village 36-26-41–103
5. Sofia Choi of Littleton 36-13-51–100
10. Rachel Penzenstadler of Centennial 34-3-31–68

Boys 12-13
4. (out of 10 competitors)Yusuke Ogi of Arvada 58-5-31–94
5. Wesley Erling of Arvada 18-30-41–89

Girls 12-13
3. (out of 10 competitors) Abigail Aeschleman of Highlands Ranch 47-27-41–115
4. Kaylee Chen of Highlands Ranch 39-17-45–101

Boys 10-11
3. (out of 10 competitors) Kaden Devenport of Windsor 46-3-50–99
7. Matai Naqica of Centennial 19-16-45–80
10. Tucker Jaffe of Vail 0-3-21–24

Girls 10-11
10. (out of 10 competitors) Macy Kleve of Windsor 30-4-17–51

Boys 7-9
2. (out of 10 competitors) Max Riley of Fort Collins 35-7-50–92
8. Ashton Edwards of Boulder 15-12-27–54
9. Collen Todd of Golden 20-3-27–50

Girls 7-9
4. (out of 10 competitors) Adrielle Miller of Highlands Ranch 15-18-36–69
6. Allie Smith of Aurora 8-22-35–65

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.
 

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.