By Scott MacLeod- Ontario Golf News
Come Monday there will be three Canadian pros taking on the Augusta National Golf Club (ANGC) as part of the field for The Masters for 2017. Before they took up the spotlight though, it was time for it to shine on another trio of Canadians of the amateur variety. Juniors, in fact.
Three young Ontario girls qualified for the finals of this year’s Drive, Chip & Putt Championship Finals at Augusta National. They did their nation proud with their performances.
Carlee Meilleur (Landowne, ON), Mia Wong (Markham, ON), and Savannah Grewal (Mississauga, ON) each took to the famed golf course in Augusta, Georgia to compete and it was all televised around the world on The Golf Channel.
Completing play first, in the girls 7-9 category, was Carlee Meilleur. She came out strong in the driver and chipping portion of the event but struggled a bit with the putts on the treacherous ANGC surfaces. She ended play in a very respectable tie for 5th place.
Eleven year-old Mia Wong of Markham competed in the 10-11 Girls Category and worked her way to a 9th place finish, with her strongest showing in the putting.
Capping the day was the performance of Savannah Grewal of Mississauga, Ontario. She came into the final event, the putting, with a slim lead. Ultimately she needed to get her last putt within five feet of the hole and managed to have it stop at 4? 10? past the cup. It was enough to secure victory by a mere two inches.
She was presented with her division-winning trophy by 2007 Masters Champion Zach Johnson.
Later in the day Grewal posted some comments to her Instagram account. She said, in part: “Words can’t describe how grateful I am right now. Being able to win the #drivechipandputt on the 18th green at Augusta National is a dream come true. I was proud to represent Canada and become the first Canadian to ever win the #drivechipandputt competition. Thanks to everyone who has supported me and encouraged me throughout the years and everyone who helped make this possible. Congrats to all my fellow competitors for the great achievements.”
Congratulations to all the competitors and the organizers involved. As it has been for four years now, it is great way to start The Masters week.