There were eight overall winners in the 2016 Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday, but the big winner may be the game of golf and its future growth.
“This has definitely taken on its own personality,” said former PGA Tour golfer Peter Jacobson, now a broadcast analyst. “We talk about Masters Sunday and we all know where we want to be, either here at Augusta or watching in front of our television. But here, today, this is really exciting and it’s about fun and it’s about family.”
The 2016 champions:
Girls 7-9 – Emerson Blair (West Point, Miss.)
Boys 7-9 – Stephen Hernandez (Houston)
Girls 10-11 – Alexa Pano (Lake Worth, Fla.)
Boys 10-11 – Christian Kim (Vernon Hills, Ill.)
Girls 12-13 – Kayla Sam (Anaheim Hills, Calif.)
Boys 12-13 – Ty Griggs (Manteca, Calif.)
Girls 14-15 – Alyssa Montgomery (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Boys 14-15 – Michael Thorbjornsen (Wellesley, Mass.)
“The magnitude of the undertaking is staggering,” said Billy Payne, chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters. “Hundreds of qualifiers in all 50 states, tens of thousands of kids. It’s quite an effort. And were it not for the professionals with the PGA of America or the assistance of the sections of the USGA it just couldn’t happen. So we have the easy part to be honest about it, but we’re delighted to be part of it.”
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