Dock shines in Augusta moment
Queensbury teen finishes second in national tournament
Waking up early Sunday morning, Brayden Dock knew that he was facing a day he would never forget.
Dock, a 14-year-old from Queensbury, was one of 80 youngsters from around the country who qualified for the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship national finals at golf ’s most hallowed grounds, Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.
The result of the competition was simply the whipped cream on top of the peach cobbler, and it turns out that Dock had plenty of topping.
Competing with nine others in the 12-13-year-old boys’ division — the finals were pushed back from last April because of the COVID -19 pandemic — Dock tied for second, winning the putting discipline.
“We were all pretty surprised at how I finished after the first two events,” Dock said by phone from Augusta. “I was in sixth going into putting.”
Where he finished was secondary to the excitement of strolling the same grounds that golf ’s greatest players have navigated.
“I was looking at how perfect the grass was,” Dock said of his initial impression of Augusta National. “I didn’t see any imperfections in the grass, trees, nothing. It was all super wellkept. I mostly was shocked that I was seeing the place that all the pros see, driving down Magnolia Lane.”
Several former Masters champions, and others who will tee it up in the coming week at the
same course for the 85th Masters, were on hand to greet the golfers, ages 8-16.
For Dock and his family, who will return to the course Monday to watch a practice round for the 85th Masters, Easter Sunday was their first chance to see what is considered the cathedral of golf.
“Everything is perfect there,” said Jeff Dock, Brayden’s father. “Everyone is so nice, very helpful. You’re just in awe. At the end, when we were on the 18th green for the putting and just waiting for him to putt, it was just an amazing experience being on that green.”
It was on the 18th green that the younger Dock made his biggest impact.
With Augusta National members and families of other players surrounding the putting surface, Dock pushed a 30-foot uphill putt to within 2 feet, 10 inches. He then jarred his second putt, a downhill, right-toleft breaker from 15 feet.
“We had five minutes to putt
on the practice green,” Dock said. “The first (practice) putt I hit went 10 feet by. They’re the fastest greens I’ve ever putted on. I felt like I was hitting a 10-footer on that 30-footer. Anything inside of 3 feet I was going to be so happy with.”
“He’s got an awesome feel on the greens,” said Anders Mattson, one of his instructors. “You could see him walking around,
he had confidence. He’s at home when he’s on the short game. When he got over that 15-footer, you could see he knew exactly what to do, and he executed beautifully.”
The competition started with driving, which Dock admitted is not a strength. Each competitor hits two drives, counting the longest that lands “in the grid.” He hit his first shot 221.2 yards.
His second drive hooked outside the boundary, so the first shot went toward his score.
Dock was in seventh place after the driving. In the chipping, in which both swings count, his first shot stopped 1 foot, 9 inches from the cup. His second was 10 feet, 8 inches, putting him fifth in chipping and sixth overall after two disciplines.
It will be the final putt that will stay in Dock’s memory bank forever.
“That was an awesome performance,” said Mattson, who owns Anders Mattson Golf Academy in Saratoga Springs. “Going in, he and I knew: put yourself in the middle of the pack on the drive, and then show off on the chip and the putt. On the big stage, he pulled it off on the putting.”
“I knew it was going to be amazing,” Dock said of his day at Augusta, “but it was more perfect than what I thought it was going to be.”