It is pretty much a given that all golfers dream about playing Augusta National Golf Club, home of The Masters. For some lucky–and skilled–junior golfers, the path to the 2024 Drive, Chip and Putt Finals held at Augusta National the Sunday prior to The Masters will begin by successfully qualifying at the local level at Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort. The Paiute event is July 13 and registration is now open here.
The Paiute is part of a national qualifying process that identifies 40 boys and 40 girls that include local qualifiers at 342 sites throughout the United States. Those who qualify at the Paiute will move on to the Sub-Regional and then hopefully the Regionals, which are both in Arizona.
It is another high-level event for the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort. The award-winning facility is the home of three Pete Dye signature golf courses and is a past host of the Korn Ferry Tour, Southern Nevada Golf Association major tournaments, the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship, Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf with Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb and the U.S. Am Tour Duel in the Desert, among others.
Golf analyst and former PGA Tour champion Peter Jacobsen and former Masters champion Jordan Spieth summed up what is at stake for the kids who make it to Augusta National for the finals.
“This is easily the happiest day in golf,” Peter Jacobsen said on Golf Channel’s telecast of the 2023 event that was held Sunday, April 2. “We’re celebrating the future of the game.”
Spieth, who presented the trophies to the girls 12-13 winners on Sunday, added, ““It’s very difficult to get to this stage. To compete and win at Augusta National is always a good feeling.”
Drive, Chip and Putt is a joint initiative founded in 2013 by the Masters Tournament, United States Golf Association and The PGA of America, Drive, Chip and Putt is a free nationwide junior golf development competition aimed at growing the game by focusing on the three fundamental skills employed in golf.
By tapping the creative and competitive spirit of girls and boys ages 7-15, Drive, Chip and Putt provides aspiring junior golfers an opportunity to play with their peers in qualifiers around the country. Participants who advance through local, sub-regional and regional qualifying in each age/gender category earn a place in the National Finals, which is conducted at Augusta National Golf Club the Sunday before the Masters Tournament and is broadcast live by Golf Channel.
Let the good feelings begin for the lucky–and skilled–group of junior golfers who begin the Drive, Chip and Putt journey at the Paiute.