Many dream of competing at Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters Tournament. Six First Tee participants will be in the field of 80 junior golfers who earned invitations to compete in the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals. The competition takes place the Sunday before the start of the Masters Tournament and is broadcast live by Golf Channel.
We are proud of our six participants competing as finalists, and to watch as they apply the life skills and character values they developed during their time at First Tee as they compete on the national stage.
Meet our participants:
Paul Ancona of First Tee – Gulf Coast
- Paul will compete in the Boys 12-13 division at DCP.
- He became first involved with First Tee through First Tee – Richmond at the age of eight.
- Paul has played mini-golf with Bubba Watson, and beat him.
- His favorite sports outside of the game of golf are football and hockey.
- He aspires to either be a PGA TOUR player or PGA professional.
Kaylie Bae of First Tee – Greater Portland
- Kaylie will compete in the Girls 7-9 division at DCP.
- She has been involved with First Tee for two years.
- She won the Drive, Chip, Putt regional qualifier at Pebble Beach, 2021 OGA Majors Tournament, and the 8-year-old division for the US Kids Golf Tour.
- When she’s not golfing, Kaylie enjoys spending time with her family, swimming, taking piano lessons and playing games.
- She aspires to receive a scholarship to attend Oregon State, become a LPGA golfer and an artist, and own a beach house.
Lyla Hawker of First Tee – Augusta
- Lyla will compete in the Girls 7-9 division at DCP.
- She has been involved with First Tee for 18 months.
- During her very first golf class at First Tee – Augusta, on her first swing, she hit a hole-in-one!
- In all three rounds to qualify for the DCP finals, Lyla won the putting competition for her age group.
- Her favorite sport outside of golf is tennis. Lyla enjoys musical theater, crafting, reading and rollerblading.
Jessica Hoerr of First Tee – Phoenix
- Jessica will compete in the Girls 7-9 division at DCP.
- She has been involved with First Tee for three years.
- She has achieved a score of 33 for nine holes.
- Off the course, Jessica is on an impact-level 3 gymnastics team, which involves 12 hours of practice per week.
- She enjoys art and drawing flowers.
- Jessica enjoys weather and would like to be a meteorologist when she grows up.
Jay Nergard of First Tee – Phoenix
- Jay will compete in the Boys 14-15 division at DCP.
- He has been involved with First Tee for eight years.
- At First Tee – Phoenix, he has raised money for Birdies for Charity and participated in 100 Putt-Putt-A-Thon. Jay volunteers at the chapter as a junior coach teaching life skills and golf to younger participants.
- Jay is a member of the robotics and aeronautics club at his high school.
- He is a Karate black belt and enjoys playing piano.
- Jay desires to attend a highly accredited school of engineering to study computer science and robotics.
Lincoln Trasamar of First Tee – South Dakota
- Lincoln will compete in the Boys 7-9 division at DCP.
- Lincoln got involved with First Tee in 2021.
- Lincoln made his first hole in one on September 16th, 2020.
- Lincoln enjoys playing golf and practice putting and chipping, playing basketball, watching all sports, reading, traveling, geography and watching Wheel of Fortune.
- His family are friends with PGA TOUR Champions golfer, Jerry Kelly. Lincoln has played with him on numerous occasions.
Qualifying for the National Finals is not easy. By tapping the creative and competitive spirit of girls and boys ages 7-15, Drive, Chip and Putt provides aspiring junior golfers an opportunity to play with their peers in qualifiers around the country. The road to Augusta began with local qualifying events last summer held at more than 250 sites across the country. The top three scorers per venue advanced to 50 subregional qualifiers. Two juniors in each age and gender division then competed at the regional level. The top finisher from each regional site’s age and gender divisions – a total of 80 finalists – earned a place in the National Finals.