Chinese-American children won the first four titles in the inaugural Drive, Chip and Putt Championship, which was played prior to the Masters Tournament, one of them handed his trophy by reigning Masters champion Adam Scott.
Kelly Xu, a nine-year-old Californian, won the 9-10 girls crown to become the first female champion at the famed home of the Masters, an all-male club until 20 months ago.
"This is the best day of my life," Xu said.
Xu, a fourth-grader whose favorite things about school are lunch and spelling, said being the first female champion at Augusta National was special.
"Winning this and seeing the reward for all the hard work I put in is most of what I’m feeling good about," Xu said.
In all, four boys and four girls from 7-15 won age-group titles after scoring points in driving, chipping and putting contests.
Leo Cheng, an 11-year-old from California whose father is a stunt coordinator with Jackie Chan, sank a 20-foot putt on the 18th green to capture the 10-11 boys crown.
The putt was from the area where Scott sank his 20-foot birdie on the 72nd hole in last year’s Masters on his way to beating Angel Cabrera in a playoff to become the first Australian to win the Masters.
"I felt like Adam Scott when I was putting that," Cheng said.
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