MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A 13-year-old Morgantown golfer has earned his way into the National Drive, Chip and Putt Championship at the Augusta National Golf Club preceding the Masters.
On MetroNews Midday, Andrew Grigsby said he participated in three events in the last year and won two of them to qualify.
“Coonskin, which is in Charleston, I placed second overall there. Then I went to Nemacolin, and I won the sub-regional there, and in Laurel Valley I got first place, and now I’m going to Augusta,” Grigsby said.
Grigsby is making the trip to Georgia on Friday and said he is super excited to compete at arguably the famous golf course in the United States.
“It’s so exciting to be able to go there,” Grigsby said. “To be able to hit a golf ball is a dream come true, and I’m super excited to do it.”
He said he started playing at age 6 in a youth league at the Pines Country Club and enjoys playing basketball and travel basketball. Because competitive golf is not offered at his grade level, he participates in the Under Armour and the Callaway golf tournaments. He gets an early start each day and always finds time to get a couple of hours of golf in.
“I get up at about 6:45 in the morning to go to school, and then after school I go to the golf course, and I’m there for a couple of hours,” Grgisby said.
This Sunday, he’ll take to the links with 80 of the top golfers in the nation between the ages of 7 and 15 years old. Each competitor gets two chances to show off three skills—driving, chipping, and putting. The putting competition is held on the iconic 18th green of Augusta National.
“This is going to feel amazing just to be at that course—it will be a dream come true,” Grigsby said. “To realize all the greats that have stepped foot on that land and played there is really cool.”
Grigsby would like to earn a PGA card in the future and play on the national tour. But, if that doesn’t pan out, he said he’d like to be an orthodontist.
“Well, you get paid decent money,” Grigsby said. “My orthodontist loves golf too and plays a lot, and I think that would be a cool life to have.”
This is a link to the live leaderboard during the competition.