10 years later and back at Augusta
AUGUSTA, Ga. — After 10 years, the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship has come full circle.
A collaboration among the Masters, U.S. Golf Association and PGA of America, the DC&P was created to inspire more youth to embrace golf. It certainly has worked in the Capital Region. Hayden Knapp of South Glens Falls on Sunday became the seventh area youngster to play in the national finals, surviving three rounds of qualifying last year to earn a trip to Augusta National.
Hundreds of thousands of golfers ages 7 to 15 participated at 342 sites around the country.
Now one of the players from the inaugural DC&P is returning to Augusta National.
Akshay Bhatia of Wake Forest, N.C., earned a spot into the exclusive Masters field Sunday by winning the PGA Tour’s Texas Open in San Antonio. He was a 12-year-old a decade ago when this youth competition began, finishing sixth among eight finalists in his age division.
He needed a playoff to beat Denny Mccarthy to earn his invitation, the last among 89 players.
“That first time at the Drive, Chip and Putt is pretty surreal as a kid,” Bhatia said Monday after arriving here from Texas. “You just don’t realize how lucky we are to have that opportunity. For everyone to be so gracious to let some kids hit some golf balls on the range, hit some putts on the 18th green, it was unreal. I remember making that putt, wearing those baggy pants. Thankfully my style’s gotten a little better.”
A left-hander whose parents emigrated from India, Bhatia had one previous PGA Tour victory, the 2023 Barracuda Championship, but it was not a full-points event and thus the winner did not automatically qualify for the Masters. His victory Sunday did.
He was born in Northridge, Calif., the area he represented in the 2012 DC&P.
“They were hosting us in a hotel, all the participants,” Bhatia said. “I was in an elevator, John Daly walks in, and I’m like this guy’s got a Diet Coke, a hoodie on, and I realized it was John Daly. It was cool to see him in the flesh for once.
“I remember coming out watching the practice rounds. We were sitting on hole 4 in the grandstands, and it was just so surreal. I remember how bad I wanted to be out there and not just watch. Now being here and being the first Drive, Chip and Putt participant in the Masters
is cool. I’m hoping this can inspire a lot of kids that are having the opportunity to play.”
Even if none of the 80 DC&P finalists Sunday goes on to a professional career, the experience is in their memory banks forever. Knapp spent Monday walking the grounds with her family and coaches, hoping to spot the likes of Rory Mcilroy, Scotty Scheffler and rookie Nick Dunlap.
On Saturday, the Knapp entourage watched the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Knapp, 13, who finished third in last year’s high school state championship as a seventhgrader, took notes on “some of the shots that they hit, like a couple of the tee shots where they had to pick how far right or left they could go, the shots they hit to greens. I was surprised at how conservative some of them were with certain greens. That was cool to learn from, and how they approach the par-3s.”
Getting immersed in golf at a young age can create dreams. Bhatia showed they can come true.