This Sunday, 11-year-old Simon Myers becomes the second McConnell Golf member to compete in the Drive, Chip and Putt national finals at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., the annual site of the Masters Tournament.

On Sunday, April 7, 11-year-old Simon Myers becomes the second McConnell Golf member to compete in the Drive, Chip and Putt national finals at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., annual site of the Masters Tournament.

The 10^th annual Drive, Chip and Putt finals will be broadcast live, prior to next week’s start of the 88th Masters. Conducted in partnership with the USGA, the Masters and the PGA of America, Drive, Chip and Putt is a free, nationwide youth golf development program open to boys and girls, ages 7-15, in four age divisions. The three-pronged competition tests the skills essential to playing the game – accuracy in driving, chipping and putting.

Local qualifying began last May and was held at hundreds of sites across the country this past summer. The top three scorers per venue, in each of the four age categories in separate boys and girls divisions, advanced to subregional qualifiers in July and August. The top two juniors in each age/gender division then competed at the regional level in September and October. Regional qualifying was held at 10 courses around the country, including multiple U.S. Open and PGA Championship venues.

Simon, the son of Linda and Tim Myers, who are members at Treyburn Country Club in Durham, N.C., won North Carolina pre-qualifier events at Mill Creek Golf Course and Duke University Golf Course, before traveling to Nashville, Tenn., for the regional qualifier.

At The Golf Club of Tennessee outside Nashville, Simon ran away with the Boys 10-11 title, his 152 points giving him a 23-point victory over the next-closest competitor. Simon sported an Augusta National polo shirt during his regional win, a gift from his friend and fellow golfer, Simon Hall. At this year’s subregional qualifier, Hall placed third and gifted the shirt to four-time regional qualifier Myers as a good luck charm.

Simon is one of 80 junior golfers representing 31 U.S. states, one Canadian province and Australia to have earned an invitation to compete at Augusta National this year. One champion will be named from each age/gender division. Each national finalist will be scored based on a 30-point system, offering the player with the best drive 10 points, the player with the closest cumulative chips 10 points and the player with the nearest cumulative putts 10 points, in each separate skill. The highest total composite score will determine the winner.

“I’m excited about the competition,” said Simon, who is a fun follow on Instagram (@simonmyers2012_golf). “The whole experience has been incredible.”

In 2016, another McConnell Golf member, Alyssa Montgomery from Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tenn., was 15 years old when she won her Drive, Chip and Putt division at Augusta National. She went on to earn All-ACC Academic Team honors during her four-year career at Virginia Tech, before joining the team at the University of South Florida as a fifth-year senior.

Simon — whose father played golf at Mississippi State and later tried his hand in professional developmental tour events — is the middle of three boys, and has played golf since he could walk. He regularly competes in Tar Heel Tour events, along with PGA Junior League, the US Kids North Carolina State Championship, and has participated in the US Kids World Championships since he was 6 years old.

This was Simon’s fourth Drive, Chip and Putt qualifying attempt, having made it as far as Duke during his three previous efforts.

Simon was able to meet his favorite golfer, Max Homa, during the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow. Homa reached out to congratulate Simon on social media after he qualified for the finals at Augusta National, and Simon hopes to see his idol again this weekend, along with some of the other Masters competitors who will be on hand.

Augusta National provides each competitor with clothing to wear during the event, and Simon requested Masters green. He also received a custom Ping bag embroidered with his name.

“I’m really excited about seeing the course and meeting the pros,” said Simon, who added that he has reviewed TV footage from previous finals at Augusta National as part of his preparation. 

Tune in to Golf Channel or NBC Sports digital platforms from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. ET for live coverage of the National Finals. Check out the live leaderboard on DriveChipandPutt.com.

For more information about Drive, Chip and Putt, please visit www.DriveChipandPutt.com.

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Catching up with collegiate standouts: Jessica and Sarah Spicer at Virginia Tech.

In January, Virginia Tech junior Jessica Spicer fired a 2-under 70 at Pinewild Country Club’s Magnolia Course in Pinehurst to win the 10th Carolinas Young Amateur championship. Spicer’s identical twin sister and Hokie teammate, Sarah, tied for sixth in the championship with a 75.

As she typically does, Jessica consulted with her sister the previous night.

“I just tried to do what I always do, which is focus on my own game, shoot the best score I could shoot, and see how it ends up,” says Jessica, who won the 2017 contest as well. “We’re so fortunate to have so many good players from the Carolinas.”

The sisters are the daughters of Michael and Maria Spicer, who have been Treyburn Country Club members since 2006. Jessica and Sarah first excelled at synchronized skating, which they started at age five. They took up golf two years later, and by their mid-teens realized that golf was their sport for the future. They played on Durham’s Northern High School boys’ golf team and earned all-conference honors.

In her sophomore campaign for the Hokies, Jessica finished fifth on the team in scoring average. Her best tournament of the season came in the fall, when she finished 16th at the Lady Paladin Invitational.

Sarah is a redshirt sophomore at Virgina Tech. She did not appear in fall 2017, but competed in two events in the spring, making her collegiate debut at the Hurricane Invitational in March. Sarah finished tied for 36th place with, among others, Jessica.

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Treyburn’s junior golfers are having a very good summer on the links. McKenzie Barringer teamed up with Director of Golf Jason Harris to win the CGA’s 8th Carolinas Pro-Junior hosted by Greensboro Country Club (Farms Course). McKenzie and Jason shot a six under par 66 to beat four other teams to claim the championship. They got off to a good start with a birdie on their first hole, the par 3 number 8. With pars on the next four holes, they were able to play the next 8 holes in six under par. “McKenzie made everything he looked at. Before we knew it, we were 6 under through 13 holes,” noted Jason. A bogey on their 14th hole stalled their momentum, but they were able to birdie their last hole to card 66. “After we made a bogey on our 14th hole, McKenzie made a huge 12 foot putt on our last hole for birdie, which in the end won us the tournament,” stated Jason. Following this victory, McKenzie qualified for the 99th Carolinas Amateur Championship at Kiawah Island July 11-14. Declared Jason, “I can’t tell you how proud I am of the great player and fine young man McKenzie has become.”

A day after McKenzie and Jason won the Pro-Junior, Jessica Spicer qualified for the USGA US Junior Girls Championship being played this year in Fort Wayne, Indiana July 22-27. She qualified by shooting 75 at the Country Club of North Carolina Dogwood course in Pinehurst. Unfortunately her twin sister, Sarah, didn’t qualify but will be on her bag caddying for the Championship. Sarah did bounce back two days after the qualifier to win on the Peggy Kirk Bell junior tour earning a victory in the Precision Golf School championship at Forest Oaks CC in Greensboro.                  

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