Young masters to test skills at Augusta National
Morgan Goldstein and Avery Lazarski were running around, laughing and having fun as they waited for the photographer to get a shot of them practicing on the putting green at TPC Summerlin on Thursday afternoon.
Goldstein, 13, and Lazarski, 10, love being kids. They also happen to be talented junior golfers who love to compete and win.
On Sunday, they get to show off their skills to the entire country when they compete in the Drive, Chip &Putt national finals at the famed Augusta National Golf Club.
Yeah, the place where they’ll be playing the Masters next week.
The Las Vegans are among the 80 finalists in eight age groups. They qualified through three previous rounds of competition, and their attitude is, “I’m going to have fun with this, and since I’m here, I might as well try to win.”
“I’m a competitor,” said Goldstein, an eighth-grader at Faith Lutheran who has been playing golf since she was 8 and will compete in the girls 12-13 age group. “I want to win.”
Last year, her brother Aidan made it to the boys 12-13 final and finished fourth. So she’d like to improve on the family’s standing this time around.
Lazarski said winning his age group (boys 10-11) would validate all the hard work he has put into golf. He picked up a club for the first time at age 3.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Lazarski, a fourth-grader at Las Vegas Day School. “Not many people get this opportunity, so I need to take advantage of it.”
The finals begin at 6 a.m. Sunday and can be seen on The Golf Channel (339).
Drive, Pitch &Putt is golf’s answer to football’s Punt, Pass &Kick program, which has been around since 1961. This is the second year of DP&P, a competition for boys and girls ages 7 to 15 that is sponsored by the United States Golf Association, the PGA of America and the Masters Foundation.
Players are awarded points for how far they drive the ball, how close to the pin they chip the ball and how close they can make putts from 6, 15 and 30 feet. Whoever accumulates the most points over the three disciplines wins.
The putting competition will be on Augusta National’s 18th green, where many Masters titles have been decided over the decades. Goldstein saw what it was like last year when she watched her brother compete. She said as long as she stays relaxed, she’s confident she’ll perform well.
“I have to keep telling myself to breathe,” she said. “But knowing my parents will be there will help me relax.”
Lazarski has familiarized himself with the 18th green by playing Tiger Woods’ video game. But he’s looking forward to competing on the real thing.
“That’s going to be awesome,” he said. “I love to have the spotlight on me.”
Goldstein and Lazarski are active in junior golf. They play as many American Junior Golf Association events as their schedule allows them without taking time away from school. Both are serious about their game, have swing coaches and are hoping golf will be their vehicle to college someday.
“Golf is a lot like life,” said Goldstein’s mother, Karri, who along with her husband, Bruce, are heavily invested in their kids’ golf activities. “There’s so many life lessons to be learned. How to handle adversity. How to keep your composure. Learning good sportsmanship. We didn’t push her into golf. She was playing tennis before she discovered golf. But she loved it right away, and we’re just trying to support her.”
Lazarski’s father, Phil, said his son fell in love with golf and has made many friends while also learning the same life lessons Karri Goldstein talked about with her daughter.
“He found a passion for golf,” he said. “He’s excelled at all sports. But he loves golf. He has great hand-eye coordination, and he has been playing in tournaments since he was 6.”
As for the pressure that comes with playing tournament golf and competitions such as Drive, Pitch &Putt, Avery Lazarski looked at it from a veteran’s perspective.
“Me and my dad say pressure is not in our vocabulary,” he said.
Both youngsters are polite, insightful and passionate about what they do. Come Sunday morning, they will be deadly serious about trying to beat the nine other competitors in their groups.
Lazarski, who is the youngest player in his group and stands about 4 feet 6 inches tall, might need to hit it a little farther than the 180 to 190 yards he tends to average off the tee. But he says he has a good touch chipping and putting, and that might be where he holds the advantage.
Goldstein is growing into her body and has a lot of strength. But she can also show a deft touch with the putter.
“My driving and chipping were good, but my putting is what helped me win the regional,” she said of her success at Promontory in Park City, Utah.
The winner doesn’t get a green jacket. But there’s a nice trophy and some bragging rights along with having a pretty impressive accomplishment to put on a golf resume.
And while the 2015 competition wraps up Sunday, registration is underway for the 2016 Drive, Pitch &Putt. Information can be obtained at DriveChipandPutt.com.
Local qualifying begins next month.
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecaprj.
