Category: Junior

Junior golf: What does the summer tournament schedule look like after coronavirus?

Many junior golf tours and events have had to adjust both their schedules and operating procedures in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

The summer golf schedule certainly looks different than it did at the start of the 2020 season. Many tours have had to adjust both their schedules and their operating procedures in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Many other events have fallen off the schedule completely, such as the U.S. Junior and U.S. Girls’ Junior.

As school lets out this month, juniors would normally be doubling down on their summer competition. Using a list of previously ranked events in our Golfweek Junior Rankings database, we compiled updates for the summer junior golf calendar. News and information for this list can be emailed to Julie Williams at jwilliams@golfweek.com.

One-off events

Scott Robertson Memorial
May 15-17, Roanoke (Virginia) Country Club
Canceled.

Dye Junior Invitational
May 25-27, Crooked Stick Golf Club, Carmel, Indiana
No change.

Byron Nelson Junior
June 2-4, Lakewood Country Club, Dallas
No change.

Maridoe Junior Invitational
June 9-11, Maridoe Golf Club, Carrollton, Texas
New event on the schedule. (Invitation only)

Western Junior
June 15-18, Onwentsia Club, Lake Forest, Illinois
Canceled.

Women’s Western Junior
June 15-19, The Grove Country Club, Long Grove, Illinois
Canceled.

Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championship
June 18-24, Virtual
The long-running tournament in Quincy, Illinois, was originally scheduled for June 22-24 but has moved to a virtual platform this year.

Barbasol Junior Championship
June 29-July 2, Keene Trace Golf Club, Nicholasville, Kentucky
Canceled.

North & South Junior & Girls’ Junior
July 4-8, Pinehurst (North Carolina) Nos. 2, 6, 8
No change.

Bubba Conlee
July 7-9, Mirimichi Golf Course, Millington, Tennessee
Canceled.

Optimist International Junior
July 11-26 (various age groups), Trump National Doral Miami (Florida)
Canceled.

Hudson Junior
July 13-16, Country Club of Hudson (Ohio)
Moved from June to new July dates listed above.

Junior PGA Championship
July 13-16, PGA Golf Club, Port St. Lucie, Florida
Canceled.

U.S. Girls’ Junior
July 13-18, U.S. Air Force Academy’s Eisenhower Golf Club, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Canceled.

U.S. Junior Amateur
July 20-25, Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minnesota
Canceled.

Girls Junior America’s Cup
July 21-23, Banbury GC, Boise, Idado
Canceled.

Boys Junior America’s Cup
July 26-30, Genoa Lakes Club, Reno, Nevada
Canceled.

Northern Junior Championship
July 27-29, Great River Golf Club, Milford, Connecticut
No changes.

Girls’ Junior PGA Championship
July 28-31, PGA Golf Club, Port St. Lucie, Florida
Canceled.

Nike Junior Invitational
Aug. 8-9, University of Georgia Golf Course, Athens, Georgia
Postponed until further notice.

Southern Junior
Aug. 12-14, Blessings Golf Club, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Postponed from June 17-19 to new August dates listed above.

Notah Begay Junior Invitational
Nov. 15-17, Koasati Pines at Coushatta, Kinder, Louisiana
Qualifying for the inaugural event has been reformatted because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Local qualifying has been canceled so the 140-player field (50 boys, ages 14-18; 20 boys 13 and under; 50 girls ages 14-18 and 20 girls 13 and under) will be filled entirely by regional qualifying in July and August.

Junior Tours

American Junior Golf Association: A schedule update will be made Wednesday, May 20, but the next tournament on the schedule is the AJGA Invitational at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, to be played June 8-12. Events scheduled for June 22 and beyond also remain on the AJGA’s schedule.

Canadian Junior Golf Association: Tour plans to provide an update in the near future regarding remainder of 2020 season.

Florida Junior Tour: Canceled through May 31.

Future Champions Tour: An event in Escondido, California, on May 9-10 marked the tour’s restart. The Tour will operate on an updated schedule for the remainder of the season.

Golfweek Junior Invitationals: The Golfweek West Coast Junior Open in Maricopa, Arizona, is still on the schedule for May 23-24.

Golfweek Junior Tour: The Tour restarted in Springboro, Ohio, on May 9 and will continue playing through May and June (with some new events and some events on new dates).

Hurricane Junior Tour: Returned to competition as of May 2-3.

IMG Junior Tour: The remainder of the Tour’s spring schedule was canceled, which included the Tour Championship which had initially been postponed to May 23-24.

International Junior Golf Tour: All spring tournaments canceled.

Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour: Six postponed events still need new dates, but the next tournament on the calendar is the PKBGT Open Champion in Salisbury, North Carolina, starting May 23.

Rocky Mountain Junior Golf Tour: Scheduled to return to competition starting Memorial Day weekend (May 23-25).

Southeastern Junior Golf Tour: Working to reschedule events that were canceled in March and April. Tour restarted May 9-10 with the Chattachoochee Junior Classic in Gainseville, Georgia.

Texas Legends Junior Tour: The Byron Nelson Junior Championship remains on the schedule for June 2-4 with registration open for the next four events through June and July.

Texas Junior Tour: The Tour has an extensive safety plan for competitions from May forward.

Toyota Tour Cup Series: All events canceled through June 21 with plans to resume play on June 22.

Maridoe Junior Invitational fills a void in summer schedule for junior golfers

The Maridoe Junior Invitational will feature 45 of the best junior golfers in the country competing for Southern Amateur exemptions.

Lately, more tournaments have been coming off the competition schedule than going on it, especially for junior golfers. Many of the top-ranked players haven’t teed it up since the Sage Valley Junior Invitational in March, a 54-hole event that concluded March 14 with the grounds closed to all spectators but family and essential personnel.

Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas, is opening its facility for juniors just as it has done already for pros and top amateurs. The club hosted the Maridoe Samaritan Fund Invitational at the end of last month and has version 2.0 of the event planned for May 19-21. On Monday, Maridoe also announced that it would host the Maridoe Junior Invitational June 9-11.

The 54-hole event will feature a field of 45 elite junior boys. There will be no cut, and the field will be filled by invitation according to a player’s position in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking, Golfweek Junior Rankings and Junior Golf Scoreboard.

The Maridoe Junior Invitational will be ranked by the WAGR, but there’s an even bigger carrot than that. Maridoe is already slated to host the Southern Amateur, one of the summer’s major amateur events, July 15-18. The top three finishesr in the Maridoe Junior Invitational earn an exemption into a field that’s otherwise already finalized. In other words, the Maridoe event offers a last shot at qualifying for the Southern Amateur.

Amateurs figured prominently into the Maridoe Samaritan Fund Invitational last month, and the same will be true for version 2.0. Many of the top collegians in the country helped fill the field and for MSFI2.0, but space also was reserved for two of the top juniors from each of the next four graduating classes.

Many of the top juniors events have dropped off the calendar in recent weeks, with perhaps the biggest domino falling April 24 when the USGA canceled the U.S. Junior and U.S. Girls’ Junior.

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Junior golfers step up to the plate to raise funds for COVID-19 through AJGA program

A total of 56 AJGA members are working on projects to support COVID-19 efforts and have collectively raised $26,000.

These are strange times when simply staying at home can make an impact. For an ambitious junior golfer like Chloe Chan, that didn’t feel like doing nearly enough to combat the coronavirus effects being felt around the world.

Chan, a 16-year-old from Hong Kong, has spent the last two summers on the American Junior Golf Association circuit. She knew it would be a way to showcase her game for U.S. college coaches, and it ultimately resulted in a verbal commitment to the University of Wisconsin. Summer golf also opened the door to the AJGA community. When Chan got an email from the AJGA about raising money, she went all in, using social media and email as platforms.

“I started using Instagram, Facebook, connecting with family and friends, letting them know that I have this thing up and I want them to donate to it,” Chan said. “My goal was to get to $1,000 and I managed to reach that.”

It was a big goal with the currency difference between the U.S. and Hong Kong, she said. Chan had been watching the situation become more and more serious around the world but wasn’t sure how to play her part until the AJGA’s email came through.

“It was just perfect timing, I would say,” Chan said.

Joining forces

Chan is among several AJGA players who have rallied to raise money for Direct Relief, a humanitarian aid organization currently focused on providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to health care workers, making ICU medication and equipment more accessible and providing staffing and support to overwhelmed facilities.

“I feel like I’m responsible to give back and I feel like this is a great way to help,” Chan said by phone last month from Hong Kong.

Weeks into the pandemic, 56 AJGA total members are working on projects to support COVID-19 efforts and have collectively raised $26,000.

The AJGA’s fundraising arm exists even in times of normalcy. A program called Leadership Links helps equip AJGA members to raise money for larger causes or for causes of their own choosing. Since 2009, more than 3,000 juniors have volunteered nearly 30,000 hours and raised almost $3 million for charity.

For the first time in the 11-year history of the Leadership Links program, director of youth development Beth Dockter noted, juniors both in the United States and abroad rallied behind a single cause related to an international disaster.

“COVID-19 has been an equalizer for juniors from every walk of life to come together to make a difference,” Dockter said.

Yu Wen Lu and Eddie Zhang, both of Shanghai, China, were some of the first players to begin raising money for Direct Relief. Lu raised more than three times her $1,000 goal.

More players continued to join the effort. Aksel and Jonas Moe, 13- and 14-year-old brothers from Richville, Minnesota, raised for than $6,000 for the relief effort.

Some players branched out from social media and email, like Savannah Hylton and Jonathan Griz. In the absence of junior golf, the two Hilton Head Island, South Carolina-based teens started calling hospitals and redirecting money for canceled spring golf tournaments to the medical force. The money instead went toward snack and supplies organized into goodie bags with hand-written thank-you notes.

This affects the whole world

Charlene Chung also lives in Hong Kong – she and Chloe Chan sometimes practice together, but not lately. Chung has joined the effort with her friend, also setting – and exceeding – a $1,000 goal. She used social media and tapped family friends in her fundraising effort.

“I think it was just because it not only affected China and Hong Kong, in my area, but it also affected the whole world,” she said of getting involved.

Chung said she had some experience fundraising, having done charity work as a sixth grader in the form of a baking contest through a program called Creativity Activity Service. She also has volunteered at schools, working with younger children.

Chung’s first AJGA start was two years ago. She was inspired by the level of competition and hopes to one day qualify for the U.S. Girls’ Junior, a tournament that has already been canceled for 2020.

“When I went to play the AJGA for the first time I was like whoa,” she remembers. “That made me work a lot harder while I’m here.”

In times of crisis, a determination usually funneled into junior golf has simply been redirected.

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Watch: Kids do amazing things (Junior Tour of Northern California coronavirus edition)

The NCGA compiled a video of JTNC kids doing an assortment of trick shots at home and in their backyard while sheltering in place.

If there’s any upside to golf courses being closed during the COVID-19 Pandemic (and trust us, we’re still searching) it is the creativity displayed by those of us who are still crushing it in to get their golf fix, someway somehow.

Take the kids over at the Junior Tour of Northern California. Celebrating its 10th year of existence in partnership with the PGA of America’s Northern Calfifornia section, the JTNC boasts close to 800 members and alumni that include Bryson DeChambeau, Maverick McNealy, Justin Suh and Yealimi Noh.

A recent social media video shows a new crop of talented golfers holing out chip shots in their basement and juggling balls in their backyard with the best of them. It’s worth a minute of your time. You can check it out by clicking the link below.

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A new concept in junior golf: Pepsi Little People’s Championship goes virtual

Nan Ryan has been running the Pepsi Little People’s Championship in Quincy, Illinois, for the past 47 years. This year, it’s going virtual.

Nan Ryan was playing the Quincy (Illinois) City Championship in the summer of 1973 when the local sportswriter walking next to her in the fairway planted an idea in her head. “It’s a shame there isn’t a big junior tournament in the Midwest like there is in Florida,” he said.

Pretty soon Ryan was thinking about who would sponsor such an event. She made calls to Pepsi and Berger Meat Packing.

“I figured hot dogs and Pepsi were what kids liked,” she said.

The Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championship was born the next year and has been played every year since in Quincy, a city of 40,000 situated on the Mississippi River. Competition is held in seven age divisions for both boys and girls, ages 3 to 18.

These days, Ryan, 85, says the tournament averages about 250 kids. The field peaked in 2000 with 922 players, a staggering field size that required the use of six area golf courses.

In the 47 years Ryan has been running the Little People’s, only two rounds have been rained out. No hurdle has been quite as steep as the one created by the coronavirus.

“Every year is kind of a learning experience,” she said. “We made adjustments according to what happened the previous year and things we need to change and things we need to do. This is the biggest adjustment.”

Tournament founder Nan Ryan

Ryan will keep the tournament running this year through a unique workaround. The Little People’s is about to go completely virtual, a new concept in junior golf even as more and more events fall off the calendar (the U.S. Junior and U.S. Girls’ Junior being among the latest).

Ryan noted the cancellation of the Youth Classic and the IMG Junior Worlds, which were scheduled for the weeks before her traditional mid-June dates, and knew it would be irresponsible to carry on as planned. The tournament’s board of directors voted to cancel, but it was a tough decision to eliminate the in-person event. She knows Quincy will take an economic hit from the lack of junior golfers and their parents visiting the area in June. They fill up the restaurants and hotels.

“Little People’s is like a big family,” she said. “My first thought when I was thinking about the tournament and this pandemic was, ‘This is going to be a no hugs, no handshakes tournament.’ It’s a family affair and there’s so many hearts and people who have made friends over the years. It’s one of the things I’ll miss this year.”

Correspondence will continue as players compete by playing two rounds on a golf course of their choosing between June 18 and 24. They must then take a picture of their scorecard and submit it by email. Entries into the virtual event are open through June 7 for a $30 entry fee.

Ryan plans to use the USGA’s course handicap calculator to level the playing field. The formula takes into account handicap index, course rating, slope and par. Players aged 12 to 18 must walk and carry (or push) their own bag when they log their tournament rounds and cannot accept any advice. The next age groups down can have a caddie and there’s an altogether different rule for 3- to 5-year-olds.

“Their caddie can carry them if they can’t make it around the course,” Ryan said.

After all scores are submitted, calculated and adjusted, winners will receive medals by mail. While the event will not be ranked in the Golfweek Junior Rankings, as it traditionally is, the American Junior Golf Association will still award winners of the 16-18 age divisions an exemption into an upcoming tournament.

Ryan is hoping for at least 100 players. Any player from around the world is eligible, and she has already received an entry from South Africa.

Part of the Little People’s legacy has been its reach. More than 24,000 players have entered through the years – from all 50 states and roughly 35 countries. The alumni list spans every corner of the golf world, from professional to college to coaches and teaching pros.

Ryan had to get creative, but the Little People’s isn’t about to skip a year on her watch.

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USGA announces U.S. Junior, U.S. Girls’ Junior cancellations

The U.S. Junior and U.S. Girls’ Junior are the latest events to come off the 2020 competition calendar in light of coronavirus pandemic.

The U.S. Junior and U.S. Girls’ Junior are the latest events to come off the 2020 competition calendar in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The USGA announced that neither would be played this summer, and the tournaments will not be rescheduled.

The U.S. Junior was slated for July 20-25 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, while the U.S. Girls’ Junior would have been played at the U.S. Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Course in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on July 13-18.

“Our primary focus when making determinations around championships continues to be the safety and well-being of everyone involved,” said John Bodenhamer, senior managing director of Championships for the USGA. “While we are incredibly disappointed to have to make the decision to cancel our two junior championships, we know it is the right one.”

Current and proposed federal, state and local guidelines regarding gatherings would make qualifying for both championships particularly difficult for Allied Golf Associations, which were scheduled to hold 100 qualifiers in 41 states between late May and early July.

“Given that juniors in most parts of the country are not physically attending school at this time, we did not feel comfortable asking them to compete in qualifying events,” Bodenhamer said. “We considered postponement but knowing that school will restart in many places around the country in August, we did not believe it was a viable option.”

Both events carried milestones. The U.S. Junior was set to expand from a field of 156 to field of 264 players for the first time this year. Chaska Town Course had been added as a companion course to handle the bulked-up stroke-play field.

The U.S. Girls’ Junior, meanwhile, would have been the first-ever USGA championship conducted on a military base, as Eisenhower G.C. resides on the property of the United States Air Force Academy.

The USGA had already delayed entries for both championships, in addition to the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur. The latter two events are still on the calendar for the first part of August.

Entries for those amateur championships will not open until May 18, the USGA also announced on Friday. Entries have also been delayed until that date for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, U.S. Senior Amateur, U.S. Mid-Amateur and U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur. All four of those championships are to be played between Aug. 29 and Sept. 17

In addition to the U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Junior Amateur Championships, the USGA previously canceled four 2020 championships: the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball and U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball on March 17, and the U.S. Senior Open and U.S. Senior Women’s Open on April 6.

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Megha Ganne’s ready to spring into action after winter indoors

Megha Ganne, a four-time Drive, Chip and Putt National Finalist, is becoming a major player in women’s junior and amateur golf.

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Katie Rudolph remembers the first time she saw her prized pupil, Megha Ganne of Holmdel, New Jersey, swing a golf club at a driving range at age 8.

“She was striping 7-irons,” recalls Rudolph, a First Tee coach and chief operating officer of The First Tee of Metropolitan New York. “I stopped dead in my tracks and said, ‘Who is this kid?’ Everything was perfect in her swing.”

Ever since, Rudolph has been the only instructor for Ganne. The 16-year-old has progressed to become a four-time Drive, Chip and Putt finalist, having lost a heartbreaker (in 19 holes) in the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur, shot a tournament-record 62 at the Girls Junior PGA Championship, scored an invitation to the 2020 Augusta National Women’s Amateur (since postponed) and received a sponsor’s exemption into the ShopRite LPGA Classic scheduled for late May.

From Weequahic Park Golf Club, home base for First Tee Newark, Ganne hits balls out of an indoor studio into snowbanks during the winter. Up until a couple of years ago, she viewed growing up in the Northeast as a disadvantage.

“I used it as an excuse for why I wasn’t as good as I wanted to be,” she said.

And now? She realizes she’s continued to make steady progress all year long.

“I think the difference is I don’t see my results while I’m making a swing change in real-time because I hit into a net,” she said. “When you hit a bad shot, you’re less inclined to go back to what was working. Since you don’t see the results, you trust it more than if you did.”

And just as Rudolph fondly remembers her first time seeing Ganne swing a club, Ganne hasn’t forgotten her first experience at First Tee with Rudolph.

“You told me we were playing for $1 million,” Ganne reminded Rudolph. “That continued and now Katie owes me $34 million.”

Rudolph sheepishly grinned and replied, “I have every intention of paying you back. Just as soon as I win the lottery.”

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The field: 2020 Golfweek New England Junior Open

The 8th Golfweek New England Junior Open is set for July 15-16 at Ledgemont Country Club in Seekonk, Massachusetts.

The Golfweek Junior Tournament Series presented by USA Today returns to Ledgemont Country Club in Seekonk, Massachusetts, for the 8th Golfweek New England Junior Open.

For 2020, the tournament has reverted back to its original format of a 54-hole stroke-play competition July 15-16. The first day will consist of 36 holes with 18 the final day, a common format at the collegiate level.

The Golfweek New England Junior Open will be the second leg of the Golfweek Junior Tournament Series following the cancellation of the Northern California Junior Open.

The tournament is nationally ranked by Golfweek/Sagarin and Junior Golf Scoreboard with AJGA PBE status pending review.

Winners of the tournament earn automatic invitations to compete in the prestigious Golfweek International Junior Invitational Nov. 7-8 at Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida. The International annually ranks among the top fields in junior golf with 12 PBE stars awarded to the winners.

To register for the 2020 Golfweek New England Junior Open, please click the following link:

Golfweek New England registration

Past Champions of the Golfweek New England Junior Open:

2012: Patrick Albanesi, Isabel Southard

2013: Jackson Lang, Katie Barrand

2014: Brent Ito, Sophie DiPetrillo

2015: Tyler Nagano, Sophie DiPetrillo

2016: Andrew DiPetrillo, Ashley Lung

2017: Jack O’Donnell, Jesse Kweong

2018: No Tournament

2019: Jack O’Donnell, Gabrielle Shieh

Players currently registered to compete in the 2020 Golfweek New England Junior Open:

BOYS

  • Harper Edwards, Victoria, Texas
  • Ryan Somerville, Aurora, Ontario

Devastated over ANWA postponement, Paris Hilinski prepares for golf’s return

Paris Hilinski would have made her ANWA debut this week, then the coronavirus hit. She continues to stay sharp, ready for golf’s return.

Only a few weeks ago, Paris Hilinski was preparing for her Augusta National Women’s Amateur debut.

The 16-year-old beamed when she received her invitation in January for the second annual tournament. She knew being included among a select group of women to compete at Augusta National was “the opportunity of a lifetime.”

On March 13, that opportunity to stand alongside the iconic foliage in Augusta, Georgia, with some of the best amateurs in the game was postponed along with the event itself, the Masters and the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hilinski was devastated.

“I’ve never been more excited than when my (ANWA) invitation arrived and I’ve worked tirelessly to have my best game ready for the incredible opportunity,” she wrote in a post on Instagram. “But as tough as it may be I completely understand and support today’s decision to postpone and prioritize the health and safety of all. While I’ll miss playing competitive golf for awhile, I’m looking forward to time with my family and promise you I’ll be training harder than ever to be ready for what’s next. My passion and love for the game is stronger than it (has) ever been.”

Hilinski, No. 16 on the Golfweek/Sagarin girls junior ranking, is coming off an impressive freshman year. She was the second youngest player at the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur and earned a spot at the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open.

Her accomplishments so far this season include the ANWA invitation and placing third at the ANNIKA Invitational USA in January. She was hoping to build off last year’s experience this spring during the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball and the Women’s British Amateur but her schedule kept taking hits. Shortly after the ANWA was postponed, the USGA canceled all Four-Ball events and the Women’s British Amateur was rescheduled.

While disappointed she won’t play these notable events this spring, Hilinski is grateful for the experiences gained and invitations received. She’s confident they’ll bear fruit in the future despite the delays of COVID-19.

“I learned so much,” she said of the 2019 USGA events. “I think both of those events were such a big playoff so I definitely learned how to play under that kind of pressure. The U.S. Open is a little different than the U.S. Am, but I feel like if I qualified again I would go in so much more prepared than last year.”

Additional cancellations and postponements are expected to pile up as COVID-19 has not yet peaked in the United States. As of Saturday morning, there were more than 276,000 confirmed cases and 7,122 deaths in the United States, according to the New York Times.

The pandemic has understandably impacted Hilinski’s training. The sophomore who splits her time between her birthplace of Los Angeles and Palm Beach, Florida, said she usually practices several hours every day, but her trips to courses have become less frequent as the impact of coronavirus becomes more visible.

Currently residing in Palm Beach, Hilinski said she visited her regular courses, the Grove XXIII in Hobe Sound and the Floridian where she’s coached by Claude Harmon III, last week but both she and her parents are nervous about continuing the once routine activity.

“We’re a little concerned because you just keep hearing things on the news about how it’s becoming more and more contagious,” Hilinski said. “So I think they get a little worried and stuff and it’s a little scary because there’s so much unknown.”

In Florida, there were over 10,260 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 169 deaths as of Saturday morning, according to state and local health agencies, hospitals and C.D.C. data. In Palm Beach County alone, there were 856 cases and 33 deaths.

On Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued a shelter-in-place order which went into effect Friday at 12:01 a.m. ET. The order lists golf clubs as essential businesses, but the government exemption does not ease Hilinski or her parents.

Hilinski was unsure if she will continue to practice at the golf clubs as the confirmed cases and death toll across Florida continue to rise.

“I’m taking it day-by-day just because stuff is changing day-by-day,” she said.

Despite her youth, Hilinski understands the severity of the pandemic and why cancellations and postponements of events around world like graduations and tournaments continue to pile up. Everyone is making sacrifices for their own health and for the health of their communities — herself included.

Hilinski has committed to flattening the curve by adjusting her practice schedule while self-isolating at home.

Junior golfer Paris Hilinski. (Mpu Dinani)

With health and safety her top priorities, Hilinski has found indoor drills and workouts and has a putting mat in her garage. The routine, however altered it may be, comforts Hininski and is a testament to the hope she has in the midst of the rising chaos and uncertainty.

“Playing golf gives me a sense of comfort,” she said. “It’s something I look forward to doing everyday. I feel at peace on the golf course. There is something special about golf, even if you are just hitting into a net in your backyard.”

There will be a time when the virus passes and play resumes.

Whenever that may be, Hilinski will be ready.

“Right now I’m focused on the heath and safety of my loved ones and trying to be the best player and person I can be when golf gets going again,” she said.

Augusta National moves Drive, Chip and Putt Nationals Finals to 2021 but with field intact

The Drive, Chip and Putt event has been removed from the 2020 calendar, making it the first of three Augusta-hosted events moved.

In the past five years, Masters week has grown to include two additional events celebrating different sectors of the game. The lead-up to golf’s first major starts with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals.

All three were postponed March 13 due to coronavirus fears, but now the Drive, Chip and Putt event has been removed from the 2020 calendar. Augusta National Golf Club announced its decision on Friday, citing scheduling difficulties in beginning the year-long qualifying process for the next installment of the national junior event.

The 2020-21 Drive, Chip and Putt qualifying season was set to begin May 2, but that will not take place. The field that had qualified for the 2020 event, which was to take place April 5 — the Sunday before Masters week — will instead be invited to compete at Augusta National on April 4, 2021.

Drive, Chip and Putt is made up of four age divisions for boys and girls 7 to 15 years old. In announcing the cancellation, Augusta National clarified that 2020 national finalists “will be invited to compete at Augusta National Golf Club in the same age division for which he or she previously qualified in 2020, regardless of their age on that date.”

Those who purchased tickets to the National Finals will be refunded their money in May, with the guarantee that they can purchase tickets for the 2021 event.

“We share in the disappointment of all those who were anticipating the start of Drive, Chip and Putt local qualifying, as well as this year’s National Finalists, who worked so hard to prepare for this April,” said Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament. “These decisions protect the health and well-being of the program’s many important constituents and were made independently from our Masters Tournament rescheduling efforts. With no qualifying this summer, we are pleased to maintain this wonderful transition by welcoming these 80 boys and girls to Augusta National next April.”

Registration for next year’s qualifying season is expected to open in early 2021.