Jacob Eagan of Castle Rock narrowly misses becoming first Coloradan to win overall title at Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals, falling in a playoff; Eagan (chipping) and Brady Shaw of Pueblo (making both putts) capture national victories in individual disciplines
By Gary Baines – 4/2/2023
They say that the game of golf often comes down to a matter of inches.
After Sunday, Jacob Eagan of Castle Rock can certainly relate.
Literally, had Eagan’s 30-foot putt on the 18th green at Augusta National Golf Club finished one inch closer to the hole on Sunday, he would have become the first overall age-group champion from Colorado in the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals.
As it was, thanks to Eagan making his second putt — the one from 15 feet — the 9-year-old tied Knox Mason of Portland, Tenn., for both the putting portion of the boys 7-9 competition — and the overall lead in that division.
That led to a 15-foot putt-off for the putting title — which Mason won — then to a second playoff — also the 15-foot putt — for the overall boys 7-9 crown. It marked just the eighth time in nine years a DCP National Finals overall title has been decided via playoff.
And, just as Eagan had made his putt earlier — in regulation — Mason drained it in the overall playoff. That gave the Tennessean the boys 7-9 overall national title, while Eagan was left as runner-up — by an ever-so-slim margin.
Eagan, who plays out of Plum Creek Golf Club, became the second-ever DCP national overall runner-up from Colorado. About an hour later, Brady Shaw of Pueblo joined him as a second-place overall finisher — in his case falling two points shy of Neal Manutai of Laie, Hawaii in regulation in the boys 10-11 division. Manutai is a nephew of five-time PGA Tour winner Tony Finau.
In 2019, Chunya Boonta of Centennial was the first DCP national runner-up from Colorado as she placed second in the girls 12-13 division.
Also on Sunday, Eagan and Shaw became the second and third Coloradans to win individual disciplines at the DCP National Finals, held annually at Augusta National on the eve of Masters week.
Eagan prevailed in the chip portion of the event — just as he had in regional qualifying at Castle Pines Golf Club in September.
Then Shaw made a statement in the putting portion of the boys 10-11 competition, becoming just the sixth player in nine-year history of the DCP National Finals to make both the 30- and 15-foot putts. His 0 feet, 0 inches cumulative distance from the hole was 2 feet, 9 inches better than the runner-up.
The previous individual-discipline national champ from Colorado was Sophia Capua of Aurora, who who the chip portion in the 2022 National Finals for the girls 14-15 division.
In Eagan’s case, the drama played out early Sunday morning (Denver time) on Golf Channel, which televised five hours of the DCP National Finals.
Eagan came into the putting portion of the event one point out of the lead and one ahead of Mason.
With the cumulative distance from the hole of two putts — one from 30 feet and one from 15 — being the deciding factor, Eagan and Mason both finished with a total of 2 feet, 10 inches from the cup. After his 30-foot putt on the famed green — where so much history has been made at the Masters — ended up 2 feet, 10 inches away, Eagan holed his 15-footer, punctuating the moment with a memorable celebration.
The result of the tie was a playoff for the putting title, with Mason prevailing by leaving his attempt on the lip of the cup, while Eagan came up a couple of feet short. With that, Mason earned one more point than Eagan in putting, leaving them tied overall with 22 points.
So … another playoff via the 15-foot putt — this one for the overall championship in boys 7-9.
This time, Eagan barely missed, his ball sliding past the upper portion of the cup, finishing just a few inches past the hole and seemingly leaving him in good shape to claim the overall crown. But Mason dashed those hopes by knocking his 15-footer into the back of the cup.
It would have been a dream come true for Eagan to win the overall national title. But, as he noted in September when he qualified for the National Finals, going to Augusta National was special unto itself.
“I’m feeling so excited. It’s just amazing. It’s such a special place,” he said then, adding that he was most looking forward to driving down Magnolia Lane. “It’s been the biggest dream so far in my life. It’s so cool to finally accomplish it.”
Beyond that, Eagan did leave with the chipping national title on Sunday. He prevailed in that discipline with a cumulative total distance from the hole of 13 feet for his two chips — 8 feet, 6 inches for the first and 4 feet, 6 inches for the second.
Meanwhile, Shaw produced his share of highlights on the 18th green in the putting portion of the boys 10-11 competition. Only five times in the previous eight iterations of the DCP National Finals had a competitors made both the 30- and 15-foot putts at Augusta National. But Shaw, who plays out of Pueblo Country Club, became No. 6 all time. (It should be noted that later in the day, Natalie Martin of Park Rapids, Minn. (girls 10-11) became No. 7.
Shaw, who won all three disciplines in the regional qualifying at Castle Pines, used his putting prowess to move up to No. 2 in the overall competition. His 21 points finished second only to Manutai’s 23.
The pressure on Sunday was considerable — competing for a national title, and doing it on the Golf Channel at Augusta National.
As Rose Zhang, who won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur title on Saturday noted on Sunday, “You’re magnifying six golf shots over the course of two hours.”
A year after a record four Coloradans advanced to the DCP National Finals, three made it to Augusta National on Sunday. In addition to Eagan and Shaw, Koehn Kuenzler of Cortez competed in the boys 7-9 competition, finishing eighth. Kuenzler, like Eagan, was tied for second place going into putting portion of the event.
Kuenzler — a product of Conquistador Golf Course who advanced through regional qualifying at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Ariz. — shined in the driving portion of Sunday’s event. He placed third in that discipline with a poke of 170.5 yards.
Eagan, Shaw and Kuenzler make it 13 Coloradans all time who have qualified for the DCP National Finals. Previously competing in the event at Augusta National were Caitlyn Chin twice (2016 and ’19), Luke Trujillo (2016), Arielle Keating (2016), Kaden Ford (2018), Chunya Boonta (2019), Grady Ortiz (2019), Capua (2022), Matai Naqica (2022), Anthony Chen (2022) and Judd Nikkel (2022).
Overall, 80 juniors vied in Sunday’s DCP National Finals — 10 each in eight age/gender divisions. All of them went through three stages of qualifying to make it to Augusta National — locals, sub-regionals and regionals.
In DCP events, contestants score points in each discipline — driving, chipping and putting — based on how they place in each, with the points added together for a cumulative total.
DCP is sponsored by the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America. The competition is limited to players 7-15. In Colorado, the Colorado PGA conducts the event with the help of numerous volunteers and courses/clubs.
Here are the results of the three Coloradans who competed in the DCP National Finals on Sunday:
BOYS 7-9
Jacob Eagan of Castle Rock
Drive (Eighth place) — 139.8 yards (counted); 137.2 yards
Chip (First place) — 8 feet, 6 inches + 4 feet, 6 inches = 13 feet
Putt (Second place) — 2 feet, 10 inches + Hole in one = 2 feet, 10 inches
Overall (Second place) — 3 (Drive)-10 (Chip)-9 (Putting)—22 points
Koehn Kuenzler of Cortez
Drive (Third place) — 164.6 yards; 170.5 yards (counted)
Chip (Sixth place) — 21 feet, 5 inches + 6 feet, 4 inches = 27 feet, 9 inches
Putt (10th place) — 11 feet, 11 inches + 5 feet, 2 inches = 17 feet, 1 inch
Overall (Eighth place) — 8 (Drive)-5 (Chip)-1 (Putt) — 14 points
BOYS 10-11
Brady Shaw of Pueblo
Drive (Seventh place) — Outside grid; 195.4 yards (counted)
Chip (Fourth place) — 10 feet, 10 inches + 3 feet, 0 inches = 13 feet, 10 inches
Putt — Hole in one + Hole in one = 0 feet, 0 inches
Overall (Second place) — 4 (Drive)-7 (Chip)-10 (Putt) — 21 points
For all the scores from Sunday’s Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals, CLICK HERE.
About the Author: Gary Baines owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com