After having earned her 2019 LPGA Tour card but deferring taking membership because she wanted to complete her senior season and graduate from Wake Forest, Kupcho (left in an LPGA photo) indicated earlier this month that she planned to focus on school and college golf in her final semester at Wake.

But after the team’s schedule underwent some minor tweaking, Kupcho decided to compete at Augusta National just before the Masters. The 21-year-old earned an invitation by being among the top 30 U.S. players in the final Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking of 2018. (Updated Jan. 23: Kupcho returned to No. 1 in the world rankings on Wednesday.)

Augusta National Women’s Amateur officials announced on Tuesday that 66 players have accepted invitations for the inaugural event, including 36 from outside the U.S. A 72-person field is planned.

The competitors will play the first 36 holes at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Ga., on April 3 and 4, with a practice round set for Augusta National on April 5 before the 30 players who make the cut compete in the final round at Augusta National on Saturday, April 6.

NBC will televise three hours of that final round, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (MT)

For the entire Augusta National Women’s Amateur field to date, CLICK HERE.
 

One of just 80 junior golfers overall to earn a spot in the Finals at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia — the home of next week’s Masters — Ford finished sixth out of 10 competitors in the Boys 14-15 division. That ties the best showing ever by a Coloradan in the event.

Ford (pictured) was just the fourth Coloradan to advance to the DCP National Finals in the first five years of the championship. Luke Trujillo, a teammate of Ford at Discovery Canyon High School, competed at Augusta National in 2016, along with fellow Coloradans Arielle Keating and Caitlyn Chin. Trujillo, who went on to win the 4A state high school individual title in the fall of 2016, and Keating finished sixth in their respective age/gender divisions two years ago, while Chin was 10th.

“It was definitely inspiring to watch someone I know on TV and it was awesome to play with a past DCP finalist during the high school season this (past) fall,” Ford said of Trujillo in his DCP bio.

Ford placed seventh in the drive portion of the contest (235 yards), second in the chipping (5 feet, 9 inches aggregate distance from the hole) and sixth in the putting (6 feet aggregate distance from the hole). That gave him 18 points overall. The putting portion of the event was held on the 18th green at Augusta National.

Brendan Valdes of Orlando, Fla., won a putting playoff to claim the title after posting a 23-point total.

Each competitor was scored based on the longest of two drives (provided it’s inbounds), and the cumulative proximity to the hole of two chips and of two putts from different distances. The kids with the highest combined scores in driving, chipping and putting won the overall titles.

Ford, a 15-year-old high school freshman, had advanced through three previous competitions to earn a spot in the National Finals. He competed in the Local event at The Club at Flying Horse in Colorado Springs — his home course — and in the Sub-Regional at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora, then he won the Regionals at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

During Sunday’s telecast, the Golf Channel ran a three-minute feature segment on Ford, who has battled epilepsy, asthma and serious food allergies but controls those issues with medication. To watch that segment, which also aired last month on Golf Channel’s Morning Drive, CLICK HERE. 

Golf Channel also showed Ford hitting a drive, a chip (after which he gave a fist-pump) and two putts on Sunday.

Ford, who started playing golf at age 5, owns an 8.2 Handicap Index. It’s his first trip to the Masters site.

On Sunday, he wore an orange shirt and hat — true to what he wrote on his DCP bio.

“The brighter my clothes, the better I play,” he wrote. “I also have multiple outfits that I have won in and consider them lucky.”

In all, 80 kids qualified for the DCP National Finals — 10 in each of four age groups for boys and girls.

The Golf Channel televised five hours of the DCP National Finals on Sunday. Among those on hand to watch the festivities were major champions Gary Player, Annika Sorenstam, Bubba Watson, Nick Faldo, Nancy Lopez, Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, Mark O’Meara and Martin Kaymer, along with former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

“This is very inspiring,” Sorenstam, a 72-time winner on the LPGA Tour, said on the Golf Channel telecast.

“I don’t think I could have done this at that age,” O’Meara added.

The Drive, Chip and Putt is a joint initiative of the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America designed to help grow the game.

For all the results from the DCP National Finals on Sunday, CLICK HERE.

Though this was the third national finals of the DCP, it was the first year a Coloradan qualified. In all, 80 golfers — 40 boys and 40 girls from across the U.S. and Canada — competed on Sunday at Augusta. The event was broken up into four age groups each for boys and girls, age 7-15.

Luke Trujillo, 15, of Colorado Springs finished sixth out of 10 players overall in the boys 14-15 age group with 15.5 points, 7.5 fewer than champion Michael Thorbjornsen of Wellesley, Mass. Trujillo ended up third in putting — thanks to draining his second putt — sixth in chipping, and tied for seventh in the drive. The Golf Channel showed one of Trujillo’s drives and both of his chips and putts on Sunday, including the one that he holed to close his day.

Arielle Keating, 15, of Colorado Springs finished sixth in the girls 14-15 division with 16.5 points, 10 behind champion Alyssa Montgomery of Knoxville, Tenn. Keating tied for third in the chip (her second chip finished a foot from the cup), and placed fifth in the putt and eighth in the drive. Golf Channel showed her stroke one of her putts on Sunday.

Caitlyn Chin, 8, of suburban Denver finished 10th in the girls 7-9 division with five points, leaving her 19 points back of champion Emerson Blair of West Point, Miss. Chin placed eighth in the drive, and 10th in both the chip and the putt. Golf Channel showed both of Chin’s putts on Sunday.

(The Coloradans — from left, Trujillo, Chin and Keating — are pictured above.)

After competing in the Drive, Chip and Putt on Sunday, Trujillo, Keating and Chin — and their families — will have a chance to watch a Masters practice round Monday at Augusta National.

Among those on hand for Sunday’s DCP national finals were Masters champions Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, Nick Faldo, Ben Crenshaw and Mark O’Meara, other PGA Tour players Jason Day, Keegan Bradley and Matt Kuchar, new USGA president Diana Murphy, PGA of America president Derek Sprague, Augusta National chairman Billy Payne, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and U.S. Amateur and NCAA champion Bryson DeChambeau. On Saturday on the eve of the event, the DCP finalists rubbed elbows with entertainers Justin Timberlake and Niall Horan, and PGA Tour player Justin Rose.

“This is special,” Watson said Sunday on Golf Channel. “It jerks at my heart a lot, watching this. There are other things these kids are learning (besides displaying their skills). They’re learning etiquette, dedication, and the drive (necessary to achieve at a high level).”

Only six states were better represented in the DCP national finals this spring than Colorado — California (8 finalists), Texas (7), Ohio (5), and New York, Illinois and Michigan (4 each).

The Drive, Chip and Putt Championship is a joint initiative of the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America designed to help grow the game.

Each competitor is scored based on the longest of two drives (provided it’s inbounds), and the cumulative proximity to the hole of two chips and of two putts from different distances. The driving and chipping were held at Augusta National’s tournament practice area, with the putting set for ANGC’s 18th green. Golfers competed within eight groups based on gender and age, with the kids with the highest combined scores in driving, chipping and putting winning the overall titles.

All 80 of the finalists who vied at Augusta National on Sunday qualified by virtue of advancing through local, sub-regional and regional competitions.

Trujillo, Keating and Chin all took the same sub-regional and regional paths to the finals, advancing at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora and Torrey Pines Golf Club in La Jolla, Calif., respectively. Each won his or her divisions at the regionals at Torrey Pines.

For all the results of Sunday’s Drive, Chip and Putt national finals, CLICK HERE.

Registration for the 2016-17 Drive, Chip and Putt Championship is open. The website can be accessed by CLICKING HERE.  

No Coloradans qualified for the national finals of the DC&P event held at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia in the first two years of the competition, culminating in 2014 and ’15. But there’s no such issue this time around.

In fact, three junior golfers from Colorado will be among the 80 competitors — 40 boys and 40 girls from across the U.S. and Canada — who will be vying in the third annual Drive, Chip and Putt finals, set for Sunday (April 3) at Augusta National on the eve of Masters week.

That makes Colorado one of the most well-represented states in this year’s finals. In fact, only six states have more finalists this spring — California (8), Texas (7), Ohio (5), and New York, Illinois and Michigan (4 each).

The Drive, Chip and Putt Championship, for youngsters age 7-15, is a joint initiative of the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America designed to help grow the game.

Each competitor is scored based on the longest of two drives (provided it’s inbounds), and the cumulative proximity to the hole of two chips and of two putts. The driving and chipping will be held at Augusta National’s tournament practice area, with the putting set for ANGC’s 18th green. Golfers vie within eight groups based on gender and age, with the kids with the highest combined scores in driving, chipping and putting winning the overall titles.

All 80 of the finalists who will vie at Augusta National on Sunday qualified by virtue of advancing through local, sub-regional and regional competitions.

The Coloradans who made the finals are Luke Trujillo of Colorado Springs (boys 14-15 age group), fellow Colorado Springs resident Arielle Keating (girls 14-15) and Caitlyn Chin of suburban Denver (girls 7-9). Trujillo and Keating are children of PGA professionals John Trujillo of Eisenhower Golf Club and Brad Keating of Springs Ranch Golf Club, respectively.

Trujillo, Keating and Chin all took the same sub-regional and regional paths to the finals, advancing at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora and Torrey Pines Golf Club in La Jolla, Calif., respectively. Each won his or her division at the regionals at Torrey Pines.

Trujillo, who owns a 0.8 handicap index, remembers watching last year’s DC&P finals on TV.

“I saw all these kids doing what they love to do and having a lot of fun and I wanted to have the chance to be in that moment,” he told drivechipandputt.com.

Trujillo plays out of the Golf Club at Flying Horse, while Keating is from the Country Club of Colorado and Chin hails from Meridian Golf Club.

Golf Channel will be devoting five hours of TV coverage to the Drive, Chip and Putt finals on Sunday, with an hour-long “pre-game” (6-7 a.m. MT) followed by four hours of live action (7-11 a.m.).