Brockstedt qualifies for National Drive, Chip and Putt Championship at Augusta

Sawyer Brockstedt should really enjoy writing her What I Did This Summer essay during this first week of school.

The 10-year-old Rehoboth Beach resident just returned from Pinehurst, N.C., where she won the Sept. 3 regional qualifier for the national Drive, Chip and Putt Championship.

She’s going to Augusta.

The Drive, Chip and Putt Championship takes place the Sunday before the Masters tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. The televised contest showcases dozens of juniors in different age categories from all over. Next year’s event will take place April 1.

Ninety-six kids traveled to Pinehurst, having first done well in the local and subregional qualifiers in several states. Brockstedt competed in the Girls 10-11 group against 11 players from Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, South Carolina, North Carolina and Delaware. Avery McCrery is from Wilmington, and she also advanced to the Pinehurst regional.

The contest requires the golfers to make three drives, three chips and three putts. The putting part of the Pinehurst event took place at the Thistle Dhu putting course, while the driving contest used the 18th hole at Pinehurst No. 1. The chipping contest used the chipping green next to the Thistle Dhu course.

Sawyer’s proud father, Chase Brockstedt, sent a description of how her day went.

In the driving segment, the first of the day, she finished in third place with 33 points, five behind McCrery. In the chipping contest that followed, the competitors played in reverse order of their finish in the driving contest, with McCrery going last. Brockstedt earned 21 points, 15 fewer than the winner of that part, but still in overall contention.

Brockstedt then came in third in the putting contest, and overcame a 16-point total score deficit to win her age group by five points. In addition to the victory, she earned medals for her third-place finishes in driving and putting.

Brockstedt’s Drive, Chip and Putt triumphs weren’t the only highlights of her summer.

On Aug. 20, she won the Eastern Shore Junior Golf Tour series at the River Marsh Club at the Cambridge Hyatt. The tour held 10 tournaments at Delaware and Maryland Eastern Shore golf courses, beginning in early June. Brockstedt played in seven of these events, winning three, including a sudden-death victory at Bear Trap Dunes July 23.

During the River Marsh tournament, she made a 25-foot putt on the last hole to win the event, just beating Sarah Lydic from Ocean View. Lydic went to Augusta last year for the Drive, Chip and Putt nationals.

Brockstedt also finished in second place in the Eastern Shore Junior Tour event Aug. 13 at Ocean City Golf & Yacht Club.

As reported here previously, Brockstedt competed in the Philly PGA Junior Tour series, with a June 20 win at Kings Creek Country Club, her home course. She won her second Philly Junior Tour event Aug. 15 at Heritage Shores in Bridgeville. In addition, Brockstedt finished first place gross in the first flight in the 2017 Kings Creek Country Club Ladies Club Championship.

If there’s a word limit on that What I Did This Summer essay, she may have the kind of problem that is nice to have.

Cape Senior Center Tournament Sept. 25

Playing spots remain available for this year’s Cape Henlopen Senior Center Tournament Monday, Sept. 25, at The Rookery South.

The day begins with registration at 8 a.m., then a shotgun start at 9 a.m. The $100 entry fee per player includes greens fees, cart, breakfast, lunch, a goodie bag and prizes.

This year’s tournament proceeds go to the center’s New Building Fund. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. For more information, contact the center at 302-227-2055.

Clothing Our Kids sponsorships

The Clothing Our Kids charity is a great Cape Region example of the spontaneous organizations that spring up to meet a real need. In this case, the need is for appropriate school clothing for low-income elementary-level students throughout Sussex County.

Clothing Our Kids has provided thousands of clothing articles for several thousand youngsters, in cooperation with the school districts that identify the needs and work with the charity to fulfill them. COK’s primary fundraiser is a golf tournament at The Peninsula, and many of the participants are residents of the Millsboro community.

This year’s COK tournament, to be held Monday, Oct. 2, officially sold out all of its playing spots. However, several sponsorships remain available for Cape Region businesses interested in helping COK meet its mission.

Sponsorship levels run from $200 for a hole up to $2,500 for the Gold Sponsorship. For more information, contact Kate Gibson at 410-984-2548 or kate.gibson@verizon.net.

Local club competition results

The Kings Creek CC Ladies 9-Hole group played a Low Putts game Aug. 30, in which only putts from the greens were counted toward the final scores.

Hope Lavachia won first place, and also took closest to the pin honors on the 11th hole. Jane Perkins finished second and Kathy Nave took third.