AUGUSTA, Ga. — Gainesville's Hudson Justus captured the 11th Drive, Chip and Putt championship at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday.
After holing both putts on the 18th green, Hudson Justus of Gainesville, Ga., claimed first place overall in the Boys 12-13 division. It was his second appearance at Augusta National, having also competed in the 2023 Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals.
“It was a long road to get here,” Justus said in the release. “After making it two years ago, I knew I wanted to come back and win – and now I have.”
The National Finals partnered with the Masters Tournament, USGA and the PGA of America. It's a free youth golf development initiative for junior golfers of all skill and ability levels.
The competition is open to boys and girls, ages 7-15, in four age categories and tests the skills "essential to golf: accuracy, chipping and putting."
According to the event press release, tens of thousands of participants seized the opportunity to qualify for the event, which began with hundreds of local qualifiers at courses across the country in the summer of 2024. From there, the top finishers advanced through subregional qualifying events to one of 10 regional qualifiers at some of the nation’s most acclaimed venues and championship sites.
The 80 regional winners across the four age divisions (40 boys and 40 girls) earned a trip to Augusta National Golf Club to participate in the 11th Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals.
The four girl champions were: Ellie Kim of Danville, Calif. (7-9); Bella Simoes of Lake Worth, Fla. (10-11); Alexandra Phung of Forest Hills, N.Y. (12-13); and Abigail Henriksen of DeForest, Wis. (14-15).
The four boy champions were: Joshua Hooper of Wildwood, Mo. (7-9); Dawson Dial of Cedar Park, Texas (10-11); Hudson Justus of Gainesville, Ga. (12-13); and Anthony Wu of Mission Viejo, Calif. (14-15).
Points were awarded in three individual skill categories (driving, chipping, and putting), with the winner in each skill receiving 10 points, second place receiving 9 points, and so on, down to 1 point. The player with the most points following all three competitions was declared the overall winner of the age group.
For the drive portion, the better of two distances was used to determine the score. Each golfer then took two chips; the closest cumulative distance to the hole determined the winner. Players then moved to Augusta National’s No. 18 green, where they attempted two putts—from 15 and 30 feet—and used the cumulative distance from the hole to determine the score.
