EAST AMHERST, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Western New York PGA held one of four local qualifiers for the Drive, Chip, & Putt contest at Glen Oak Golf Course on Thursday.
The contest marks the first step in a long process that could lead a child all the way to next year's Masters in Augusta. Executive director Steven Bartkowski said it was a record breaking day.
"The most we ever had in a Drive, Chip, & Putt competition was 160. Today we surpassed that with over 210 kids registered," Bartkowski said. "So it's a pretty cool day for us, and to see all these smiling faces and parents out here is just amazing."
Out of all those participants, only three from each gender & age group will move onto the sub-regionals at Glen Oak on August 8th. After that, there's another regional qualifier in September that's the final test before Augusta.
"They come here and they hit nine shots. Three drives, three chips, three putts," Bartkowski said.
The scoring on all nine shots is cumulative instead of taking the best of each type of shot. Participants try to keep a positive attitude when they're at the tee box or on the green.
"It's all about hitting the first shot good, and then the second shot good," Michael Riad said. "And then maybe come back the next year with improved skills."
"If you're here, you know that the number one rule is to just have fun," Lauren Riad said. "So basically, just get out and hit as best as you can."
Final Results (top three in each age group move on to Sub-Regionals):
7-9 year-old girls:
1.) Erica Bailey
2.) Krisline Truong
3.) Riviera Lindholm
7-9 year-old boys:
1.) Liam Ampil
2.) Jack O'Sullivan
3.) Padraic Schamberger
10-12 year-old girls:
1.) Lily Zhang
2.) Francesca Ampil
3.) Celina Yeo
10-12 year-old boys:
1.) Siddharth Kaja
2.) Dawson Skaggs
3.) Ty Tischler
12-13 year-old girls:
1.) Vanessa Borovilos
2.) Carmella Carlisi
3.) Kylie Ruston
12-13 year-old boys:
1.) Aidan Talent
2.) Michael Martel
3.) Aiden Pavey
14-15 year-old girls:
1.) Kaitlyn Ellis
2.) Myranda Quinton
3.) Hailey Hendershott
14-15 year-old boys:
1.) Anthony Sartor
2.) Sai Kaja
3.) Andreas Diogenous
