West Newsmagazine 5-1-24

32 I SPORTS I
By WARREN MAYES
May 1, 2024
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
Eureka’s Madison Pyatt believes in the
old adage that if at first you don’t succeed,
try and try again. Good wisdom for someone
just 9 years old and in the fourth grade
at Geggie Elementary. That mindset has
taken her a long way.
“My dad (Travis Pyatt) told me about DCP
(Drive, Chip & Putt) and I was hooked from
the start,” said Madison. “My first year, two
years ago when I was 7, I made it to the third
qualifying at Medinah Country Club in Chicago,
but sadly I didn’t make it to Augusta
that year. Last year was similar and I didn’t
go all the way.”
She never gave up. She wanted her dream
to come true.
Madison, who plays at the Country Club
at the Legends, achieved her dream in her
third attempt at the Drive, Chip & Putt competition.
It’s conducted in partnership with the
Masters Tournament, USGA and the PGA
of America. Drive, Chip & Putt is a free
youth golf development initiative for junior
golfers of all skill and ability levels, aimed
at sparking a lifelong interest in the game.
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 10th Drive, Chip &
Putt National Finals.
Madison was one of the girls
who earned a spot in the finals,
and was confident heading in.
“This year was different,” Madison
said. “I knew I was going to
win from the start.”
Her intuition proved correct.
Madison won the girls 7-9 championship
in the 10th annual Drive,
Chip & Putt National Finals at
Augusta National. She finished
first with 25.5 points out of a
possible 30. Adelyn Owen, the
second-place finisher from Cornith,
Texas, had 23 points.
“Madison has tremendous balance
and weight transfer, helping
her hit long drives and her short
game is incredible,” Travis said.
“This event really speaks to her strengths.”
Points were awarded in three individual
skill categories (driving, chipping and putting),
with the winner in each skill receiving
10 points, second place receiving nine
points, and so on, all the way down to one
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 18th green where they attempted
two putts – from 15 and 30 feet – and used
the cumulative distance from the hole to
determine the score.
Madison started off strong as she earned
first place in the driving discipline with a
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Eureka’s Pyatt wins Drive, Chip & Putt competition at Augusta National
Madison Pyatt with her family at Augusta: (from left) her father, Travis;
her mother Holly; sister, Kennedy; and grandmother, Sharon.
(Mackenzie Myers/Gateway PGA photo)
distance of 198.7 yards, followed
by a tie for third in chipping
with a total of 15 feet, 3 inches.
When put to the test on the green,
Madison’s second putt was within
three feet of the hole, securing the
overall victory.
“This is the best thing for me,
ever. I’ve tried for three years,”
Madison said. “I’ve practiced so
hard, and now it’s finally paid off.”
The game is fun for Madison,
who said she started playing competitively
when she was 4 1/2.
“I like spending time with my
dad, laughing and having fun on
the course,” Madison said.
Travis enjoys spending time
with his daughter. He got her
involved when he purchased her
first metal club at the age of 3.
“We would aim at trees and metal trash
cans from close range to get immediate
feedback and we slowly moved the targets
out,” Travis said. “We’d have races to targets
further out and eventually she developed
the swing to hit it further. Jeffrey Field
(director of golf at Westborough Country
Club) gave me tremendous insight and told
See PYATT, page 45
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