West Newsmagazine 5-1-24

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May 1, 2024
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
I 45
PYATT, from page 32
me to have her play in the sand, run around
on the course and just simply have fun. At
4 1/2, she started competing in the PGA Jr.
League at Fox Run Golf Club.”
She works at her game. While it’s fun,
Madison wants to keep getting better.
“Madison touches a club every day,”
Travis said. “Often she works on putting
for 15 to 30 minutes before school and an
additional one to three hours in the evenings.
Weekends are typically three to five hours
per day.”
All that hard work paid off at Augusta.
Madison was ready. She admitted she was a
“little nervous,” but she kept calm and concentrated
on the golf ball.
Travis saw someone ready to compete.
“Madison has ice in her veins. She never
shows any signs of nervousness,” Travis
said. “In times you’d expect her to be nervous,
she gets tremendously focused and
performs at her highest. It is fun to watch.”
Mackenzie Myers, 2016 Lafayette graduate
and the Gateway PGA Section player
engagement manager, worked with the
young athletes at the event. Myers noticed
Madison was not awed by the surroundings.
“Madison was probably a bit nervous, as
any of us would be, but she didn’t show it
at all,” Myers said. “She was confident,
focused, and ready to go as soon as she
stepped off the van.”
The drive competition was first. The
youngster had to drive an uphill slope.
“I hit both of them just under 200 yards,”
Madison said. “I was pretty happy.”
That good start was important.
“Driving showed to be her strength and the
fact that she came out of the gate winning the
first skill I think really instilled some confidence
going to the chipping skill,” Myers
said. “I was extremely impressed with how
far she could hit the ball as a 9-year-old and
on the biggest stage in golf.”
Her two chips were solid.
“I was happy with my first chip which
ended up around 10 feet from the cup. It
was the shot I practiced and prepared for
six months and I landed it less than an inch
from where I planned,” Madison said. “After
seeing the grain slow down the ball I hit my
second one about a yard longer which rolled
out to about four feet of the hole.”
Madison’s third-place finish in chipping
left her in first place going into the putting
portion of the event.
“Going into the putting they rearranged us
by our score. Being in first place, I got to
go last and see the others putt before me,’
Madison said. “I had around 11 feet left
to win the championship so I hit my putts
safely within the distance to win it all. Being
too aggressive could have ended badly.”
Myers appreciated how well Madison
dealt with he final part of the competition,
and her putting left Travis ecstatic.
“She stayed true to her plan and her routine
was perfect. Even Butch Harmon, Tiger
Woods’ previous coach, commented on her
routine and how she looked like a professional,”
Travis said. “She was in first place at
that time and she knew she had 11 feet in distance
to win the championship so she didn’t
have to be aggressive. She lived a dream.”
Madison saw her name atop the leaderboard.
“My body was filled with joy and happiness,”
Madison said. “It was incredible to
see my name on top. My dad gave me the
biggest hug ever and I will never forget that
moment. I worked so hard and I’m so happy
I won it.”
For Travis, it was a moment of a lifetime.
“We saw the reorganized names on the
leaderboard just before it was announced
live, so I gave her the biggest squeeze and
kept telling her how proud I was of her,”
Travis said. “She was a winner. It was a
surreal experience. Seeing her experience
success after working so tremendously hard
was amazing. It felt like we were floating.”
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Madison had family on had to see her
triumph. Mother Holly, sister Kennedy and
grandmother Sharon Madison were all there
to see her win.
With the victory came some responsibilities.
Madison went on the Golf Channel
for an interview with Kyra Dixon immediately
after she won. The good times didn’t
end there. Madison was “lucky enough
to be able to eat in the Founders Hall at
Augusta National, one of the nicest places
on earth.”
Later that evening, the Masters threw a
party for all the competitors. There were
bounce houses and food like pizza, ice
cream and cotton candy to eat.
“I had fun playing with all my new
friends,” Madison said.
She got to attend the practice round on
Monday at the Masters.
“I got an autograph on my drive metal
from Jon Rahm because he is my favorite
player,” Madison said. “I met lots of players
all day and everyone was so nice. So many
players said they watched me win. I actually
gave my first autographs to lots of people
on the course. So many nice people taking
pictures with me and saying nice things.”
Madison is not done. She plans on registering
and playing again next year.
“Absolutely,” Madison said.
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