Alexis Card, of Cambridge, Ont., holds up her first place overall trophy during the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship at Augusta National Golf Club on April 04, 2021 in Augusta, Ga.Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Alexis Card of Cambridge, Ont., won her division at the Drive, Chip and Putt event on Sunday, becoming the fourth Canadian to earn the top prize in the skills competition for junior girls and boys at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.
Wearing khaki shorts and a polo shirt, cap and earring studs in green, the emblematic colour of Augusta National, Alexis led the driving and putting portions of the competition en route to winning in the girls’ seven- to nine-year-old division. She sealed her victory by sinking her final putt on Augusta National’s 18th green.
Alexis, who plays golf at Galt Country Club near her home and is already an accomplished junior, with at least three titles to her credit in U.S. Kids Golf events, edged fellow Canadian Anna Wu of Victoria in her division. Anna won the chipping portion.
She joined Savannah Grewal (2017) of Mississauga, Vanessa Borovilos (2018) of Toronto and Nicole Gal (2019) of Oakville, Ont., as Drive, Chip and Putt champions from Canada.
Alexis, Anna and Cole Roberts of Peterborough, Ont., qualified for the 80-junior event in 2019 but didn’t get to compete in 2020 because the event was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the wait was worth it, and Alexis, who says long-smashing Canadian LPGA star Brooke Henderson is her favourite female golfer, came through with a drive of 205.9 yards, two chips that finished a total of 18 feet 2 inches from the hole, and two putts that came up a total of three feet shy.
“It was just blank for a second,” Alexis said, when asked afterward in a TV interview what went through her mind as she saw her name posted as the winner on the iconic manual scoreboard by the 18th green. “I couldn’t believe it.”
Augusta National added Drive, Chip and Putt to its roster of spring events in 2013 to promote junior golf and serve as a lead-in to the Masters, golf’s first major tournament of the calendar year. The exclusive private club has since launched the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
This year’s edition of the women’s event wrapped up on Saturday, with Japanese teenager Tsubasa Kajitani winning in a playoff. Canada’s only entry, Brigitte Thibault, 22, of Montreal, didn’t make the cut at the 54-hole event.
The Masters, itself, begins this Thursday with Canadians Mackenzie Hughes, Corey Conners and 2003 champion Mike Weir in the field.