Brielle Downer (pictured) couldn’t have played better in April’s Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals at Augusta National in early April. The 8-year-old from Lockport won the chipping portion in the Girls 7–9 Division and forced Ellie Kim of Danville, California, into a playoff after two great putts on Augusta’s 18th green stopped within two feet of the cup.
Downer was second to roll her downhill 15-footer – think Mark O’Meara’s winning putt in the 1998 Masters – knowing she had to get within four inches of the cup, as Kim did. She eyed it carefully, struck the ball gently, and watched it roll five inches past.
Finishing that close placed her second, the best finish of the four youngsters who represented the Chicago area at the 11th renewal of the unique competition.
Chloe Lee of Plainfield, competing in the Girls 12–13 bracket, was second in driving with a poke of 234 yards. She didn’t chip well, but rallied to win the putting skill. This lifted her to a third-place showing, four points out of first.
Hudson Hodge of Clarendon Hills won the chipping discipline and placed fourth in the Boys 10–11 competition, while Jack Kemper of Glenview finished eighth in the Boys 12–13 bracket, tying for fifth in putting.
All four qualified in the Upper Midwest regional at TPC Deere Run, which produced winners of two of the eight finals: Abigail Hendrickson of Wisconsin captured Girls 14–15, and Joshua Hooper of Missouri won Boys 7–9. —Tim Cronin