The 11th Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals held on Sunday, April 6 at the Augusta National Golf Club, saw eight junior golfers crowned as champions.
Four boys and four girls each took home the title of champion in their respective age groups. The participants, ranging from ages 7-15, compete in three skills: chipping, putting and accuracy in driving. In each skill, the winner receives 10 points, second places receives nine points and the points continue all the way down to one. The player who has the most points after all three competitions is the overall winner for the age group.
In the drive portion, the better of the two distances is used for the score. In chipping, the golfer took two chips and the closest cumulative distance to the hole wins. For putting, players take to the No. 18 green where they are given two putts – one from 15 feet and one from 30 feet – and the cumulative distance from the hole determines the score.
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The four girl champions were: Ellie Kim of Danville, Calif. In the 7-9 age group, Bella Simoes of Lake Worth, Fla. In the 10-11 age group, Alexandra Phung of Forest Hills, N.Y. in the 12-13 age group and Abigail Henriksen of DeForest, Wis. In the 14-15 age group.
The four boy champions were Joshua Hooper of Wildwood, Mo. In the 7-9 age group, Dawson Dial of Cedar Park, Texas in the 10-11 age group, Hudson Justus of Gainesville, Ga. In the 12-13 age group and Anthony Wu of Mission Viejo, Calif. in the 14-15 age group.
Girls division
Ellie Kim made her debut appearance at the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals and managed to clinch first place overall following a playoff against Brielle Downer of Lockport, Ill. She was inspired after watching the 2024 Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals on TV and decided she wanted to make it to the competition.
“I’ve worked so hard for this,” Kim said. “We practiced every day. Hard work truly pays off.”
Bella Simoes started the day with a 217-yard drive and placed second in the driving category. Her momentum continued and she was able to get the overall victory with a second putt rolling into the hole.
“I was trying my best to just breathe and stay calm,” Simoes said of her winning moment.
In her fourth appearance at the National Finals, Alexandra Phung took first place overall. This is her second Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals title following a win in the Girls 10-11 division in 2023.
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“It’s such an accomplishment for me,” Phung said. “I’m looking forward to maybe coming back in the future for maybe the next two years for DCP and potentially for the (Augusta National Women’s Amateur).”
Abigail Henriksen earned a score of 25 points and received the top scores in the chipping category to win first place overall.
“Getting here has been a goal of mine for the past three years,” Henriksen said of competing at the Augusta National for the first time. “It’s amazing to pull off a win.”
Boys division
Joshua Hooper took home first place overall after placing second in putting, third in driving and fourth in chipping. After his second putt came within a foot of the hole, he had a total of 24 points.
“I’m super excited,” Hooper said when asked how it feels to win the National Finals at the Augusta National.
Dawson Dial took home first place overall following a strong start and first place finish in driving and second in both chipping in putting. He finished the event five points ahead of the runner up, which marked a record-setting winning margin for his age group.
As for his favorite memory from the day, Dial said it was “getting the last putt close to win.”
Hudson Justus, in his second appearance at the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals, holed both putts on the 18th green to take home first place overall.
“It was a long road to get here,” Justus said. “After making it two years ago, I knew I wanted to come back and win – and now I have.”
Anthony Wu has wanted to compete in the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals after seeing his younger sister, Kaylee, competed in the 2022 National Finals. That dream came true in 2025 when he won the Boys 14-15 division after making a 15-foot putt.
“It’s truly surreal and a dream come true,” Wu said.
Drive, Chip and Putt information
The finals are conducted in partnership between the Masters Tournament, the PGA of America and the USGA. Drive, Chip and Putt is a free, golf development initiative for junior golfers of all ability and skill levels. It aims at creating a lifelong interest in the game of golf.
Qualification for the event began with local qualifiers across the country in summer 2024 and saw tens of thousands of participants compete in hundreds of qualifying events. The top finishers advanced to subregional qualifying events to then head one of 10 regional qualifiers.
From there, 80 regional winners – 40 boys and 40 girls – across the four age divisions earned a trip to the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals at the Augusta National Golf Club.
For more information, visit drivechipandputt.com.
