UPDATE: Conner Ford won the Drive Chip & Putt National Finals Boys 7-9 Division at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday. Our congratulations go out to Conner and his family! Matthew Troutman recorded a top five finish in the Boys 14-15 Division. Tristyn Nowlin and Lauren Hartlage both missed the 36-hole cut in the Augusta National Women's Amateur. Nowlin fired a two-day score of 153 (+9) while Hartlage recorded 155 (+11). 

           The beginning of April signals one of the most exciting thoughts to golfers around the world; the anticipation of The Masters Tournament and seeing Augusta National Golf Club. In recent years, Augusta National Golf Club has led efforts to grow the game that delve outside of The Masters. This year will mark the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur, which will make history as the first event the club hosts solely for female players. The 54-hole event begins on Wednesday and Thursday at Champions Retreat Golf Club, which neighbors Augusta National. The top 30 players after a 36-hole cut will then advance to the final round to be contested at Augusta National on Saturday, with a practice round at the famous club taking place on Friday.

            For the sixth consecutive year, the Drive Chip & Putt National Finals will once again take place on the Sunday before Masters week. The revolutionary junior golf initiative will host players on the practice grounds for the Drive and Chip aspects of the competition, ending with the Putt portion on the famous 18th green at Augusta National.

            This year, the state of Kentucky will be represented by two golfers in each event. Lauren Hartlage and Tristyn Nowlin will be a part of the Women’s Amateur field, while Conner Ford and Matthew Troutman will compete in the Drive Chip & Putt National Finals.

            Lauren Hartlage is originally from Elizabethtown and is currently a member of the Louisville Cardinals’ golf team. Hartlage is no stranger to the biggest amateur events, as she competed in last year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur and the Women’s British Amateur. She also captured the Kentucky Women’s Open last summer when she claimed the top prize at her college course, University of Louisville Golf Club.

            Tristyn Nowlin is a Richmond native and is now in her junior year at the University of Illinois. Nowlin won her first individual event with the Fighting Illini last fall when she captured the Cardinal Cup at University of Louisville Golf Club.

            Conner Ford is from Mount Vernon and will be competing in the Boys 7-9 Division at the Drive Chip & Putt National Finals. Ford made it through Local Qualifying at Calvert City Golf & Country Club followed by Sub-regional Qualifying at Persimmon Ridge Golf Club. He officially punched his ticket to Augusta when he was the top finisher at The Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This will be the first of what he hopes to be many appearances at the Drive Chip & Putt National Finals.

            Louisville’s Matthew Troutman will be in the Boys 14-15 Division this Sunday. His path to Augusta began with Local Qualifying at Man O’ War Golf before advancing through Persimmon Ridge and The Honors Course like Ford did. Troutman will also be making his first appearance in the event and aspires to be among the first golfers to compete in the National Finals as well as The Masters one day.

           NBC will air the final round of the Women’s Amateur beginning at 12:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday, while Golf Channel will broadcast the Drive Chip & Putt National Finals beginning at 8:00 a.m. EDT on Sunday. Golf Channel will also have frequent updates of the opening rounds of the Women’s Amateur during airings of Golf Central.

           For complete coverage of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, click here.

           For complete coverage of the Drive Chip & Putt National Finals, click here.