14 additional Colorado junior golfers gain spots into Drive, Chip & Putt Regionals that will be held at Colorado GC
By Gary Baines – 8/28/2021
Fourteen more Coloradans — and 16 junior golfers overall — kept their hopes alive for advancing to the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals by finishing in the top two in their age/gender divisions at a Saturday Sub-Regional qualifying tournament at Thorncreek Golf Course in Thornton.
They will advance to a Regional qualifying event that’s scheduled for Sept. 19 at Colorado Golf Club in Parker. It’s just the second time a Colorado site has hosted a DCP Regional. Two weeks ago, 15 other Coloradans earned berths into Regionals through a Sub-Regional qualifier at Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora.
Among those who advanced on Saturday was Crew Ortiz of Colorado Springs, brother of 2019 DCP National Finals qualifier Grady Ortiz. Crew Ortiz won the boys 7-9 competition at Thorncreek.
The top point scorer out of any gender/age division on Saturday was Addison Hines of Arvada, who chalked up 147 points in winning the girls 12-13 competition.
This season’s National Finals — the next step after the Regionals — are set for April 3 at Augusta National Golf Club, the weekend before the Masters.
Here are all the players from the Thorncreek Sub-Regional who will advance to the Regional. (Points: Drive-Chip-Putt—Total):
Girls 7-9
Madelyn Dickerson, Aurora 15-31-45—91
Julia Wiggs, Aurora 0-17-65—82
Girls 10-11
Rylen Darter, Woodland Park 41-31-55—127
Aiven Amella, Castle Rock 20-22-70–112
Girls 12-13
Addison Hines, Arvada 50-27-70–147
Chace Atkinson, Parker 44-27-45—116
Girls 14-15
Saydie Wagner, Alpine, Utah 47-26-45–118
Grace Messner, Colorado Springs 40-31-46—117
Boys 7-9
Crew Ortiz, Colorado Springs 23-36-65–124
Colton Witczak, Aurora 10-50-55–115
Boys 10-11
Zye Kuenzler, Littleton 39-26-60—125
Banks O’Brien, Vestavia Hills, Ala. 37-18-55–110
Boys 12-13
Ian Haynes, Aurora 41-26-65–132
Mason Lundstrom, Westminster 43 16-60–119
Boys 14-15
Miles Kuhle, Boulder 46-19-65–130
Luke Tourault, Broomfield 66-7-55—128
For all the scoring from Saturday’s event, CLICK HERE.
No Coloradans advanced to the DCP National Finals that were held in April at Augusta National. Those National Finals were originally scheduled for April 2020, but were postponed due to Covid-19 safety concerns.
In all, 10 courses around the country are hosting DCP Regional qualifying this year — and a stellar list it is. Besides Colorado GC, it includes sites which have been home to a total of 18 U.S. Opens, nine PGA Championships and four Ryder Cups in the past. Most notably, Regionals are set for Pebble Beach Golf Links in California, Medinah Country Club in Illinois, Oak Hill Country Club in New York and Oakland Hills Country Club in Michigan. Also on the Regionals list are TPC Scottsdale, Quail Hollow, TPC River Highlands, Alotian Club and The Bear’s Club.
At each of 10 Regional qualifiers, the winner of each age/gender division advance to the DCP National Finals. There are eight age/gender divisions in each DCP event.
Regionals are the third of three stages of DCP qualifying, following Locals and Sub-Regionals.
Over the years, six Coloradans have competed in Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals, including Caitlyn Chin twice (2016 and ’19). The others are Chunya Boonta (2019), Grady Ortiz (2019), Luke Trujillo (2016), Arielle Keating (2016) and Kaden Ford (2018). Boonta posted the best finish ever by a Coloradan at the National Finals, placing second in her age group two years ago.
In all, 80 junior golfers (40 boys and 40 girls) qualify for the National Finals each year — 10 contestants in each division.
In DCP events, contestants score points in each discipline — driving, chipping and putting — based on how they place in each, with the points added together for a cumulative total.
DCP is sponsored by the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America. The competition is limited to players 7-15.