Two From New Jersey Reach Drive, Chip & Putt Finals

By Rich Skyzinski, Golfweek

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The third time wasn’t a charm for Megha Ganne.

Of the 80 entrants in the finals of the 2018 Drive, Chip & Putt Championship on Sunday , April 1, at Augusta National Golf Club, the 15-year-old from Holmdel was one of only three to compete for the third time. However, experience didn’t pay dividends as she finished fourth among the 10 girls in the 13-14-year-old division.

Two players from New Jersey made their way through the qualifying process to compete on Sunday. Joining Ganne was Lance Hollingshead of Basking Ridge, who finished tied for eighth among 12- and 13-year-old boys.

“The best part was having the chance to meet so many of the 79 other competitors and share stories,” said Ganne. “You make a lot of new friends.”

Ganne was third after the driving portion of the competition, hitting her second of two chances 218.5 yards, but she lost ground in chipping as her two chips were a combined 30 feet, 11 inches from the hole, good enough only for seventh place in the field of 10.

By finishing fifth in putting, her total of 17.5 points was 4.5 points out of the running for one of the top-three trophy positions.

Hollingshead got off to a slow start by finishing ninth in the driving competition. He put himself in contention with a second-place showing in chipping, hitting his first to within 16 inches of the hole and then nearly holing his second. It hit an edge of the cup but caromed 5 feet, 2 inches away.

Although he was in fifth place overall as the group went to the putting competition on Augusta National’s 18th green, his two putts were a combined 8 feet, 8 inches away, giving him only one point toward his total score.

There are 10 players in each age division at the DCP finals. The player that wins each discipline receives 10 points; second place is worth nine, etc., all the way to one point for 10th place. Players hit two drives and count the longest that stops in bounds; in both chipping and putting, they hit two balls and total the combined distance from the hole in each. A player’s point total in each of the three disciplines is added for an overall score.