Best Golf on TV Sunday? Drive Chip Putt at Augusta

A pair of local youngsters should be on everyone's radar Sunday when they compete in the Second Annual Drive Chip & Putt Championship this Sunday prior to the start of the Masters.

One is Matthew Camel of Greenwich, CT, who racked up the high score in the nation in the regional qualifer, scoring 169 total (69 Drive, 40 Chip, 60 Putt) out of a perfect maximum score of 225.

Camel, who plays out of Round Hill Club, was a consistent performer in Met PGA Jr. events last year, accumulating 4,295.76 points toward a rank of ninth in the player of the year race in 18 events. He won twice, once at Powelton Club, again at Rockrimmon.  He qualified for the Drive Chip & Putt in the Male 14-15 year-old division at Apawamis, then Eisenhower Park's Red Course, before advancing to the regional event at Bethpage Green.

Jennifer Rosenberg of Laurel Hollow, NY, will compete in the same age group but in the Female division.  She started her qualifying at Harbor Links Golf Course.  Rosenberg teed it up on six Met PGA Jr. events last year, and won four of them, finishing second in the player of the year competition.   In 2013, she won the Long Island Girls Championship, played at Glen Cove Golf Course.  Her home course is Glen Oaks.

Eighty young golfers in four age categories will compete in the Finals Sunday.  If you can't make it Augusta, be sure to tune in to the Golf Channel.  If last year is any indication, this may equal the Masters itself in entertainment value.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Register Now for Drive Chip and Putt

Sarah Wills competing in 2014 Drive Chip Putt

Registration for the 2016 Drive, Chip and Putt Championship for young golfers hoping to earn an invitation to next year’s National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club is now open.  The event, hosted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), the Masters Tournament and The PGA of America, was a big hit at last year's Masters and is sure to draw even more attention this year.

This youth golf development initiative will again include boys and girls ages 7-15 who will compete in separate divisions in four age categories. In only its third year, the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship will provide qualifying opportunities at more than 250 sites in all 50 states during the months of May, June, July and August. Top performers at the local level will advance through sub-regional and regional qualifiers in July/August and September, respectively. The top 80 performers – 40 boys and 40 girls – will earn an invitation to the National Finals at Augusta National on Sunday, April 3, the eve of the 2016 Masters.

Locally, youngsters can compete at Stanwich on June 29, Apawamis on July 13, and Knollwood on July 27.  Don't just show up, though--advance registration is required!

The venues that will host the 10 regional qualifying events include several USGA championship sites: Chambers Bay (University Place, Wash., site of the 2015 U.S. Open), Oakmont Country Club (Oakmont, Pa., site of the 2016 U.S. Open), The Country Club (Brookline, Mass., site of the 2013 U.S. Amateur), and Torrey Pines Golf Course (La Jolla, Calif., site of the 2021 U.S. Open).

For a full list of qualifying venues at the local and sub-regional level, or for more information about the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship, including official rules, please visit www.DriveChipandPutt.com.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf