There was a Pittsburgh-area presence at the annual Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.
Whitehall native Michael Quallich finished eighth in the boys’ 7-9 age division. It was his third time competing but first trip to the finals.
Quallich, 9, is a fourth-grader at Whitehall Elementary School. He has a past-parallel swing like John Daly and soft hands around the green.
He said his favorite club to hit is his driver.
WATCH a nine-year-old with a John Daly-like swing absolutely mash drives at the Drive, Chip & Putt finals at Augusta. https://t.co/QuwkryTCJK pic.twitter.com/RM6YXuDQiN
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) April 7, 2019
...is this the next @PGA_JohnDaly?! ? pic.twitter.com/Qd1UjTSgug
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) April 7, 2019
His best nine-hole score is 39 and his best 18-hole score an 82, had six points in the drive portion of the competition, three in the chipping part, and six in putting for a total of 15.
Conner Ford of Mt. Vernon, Ky., won the division with a score of 25.
Quallich made it through three rounds of qualifying to reach the finals, at Green Oaks Country Club (local), Mystic Rock at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort (subregional) and Muirfield Village (regional).
Other winners:
Boys
10-11: Sahish Reddy, Duluth, Ga.
12-13: Matthew Vital, Bethlehem, Pa.
14-15: Treed Huang, Katy, Texas
Girls
7-9: Angela Zhang, Bellevue, Wash.
10-11: Sophia Li, Fresh Meadows, N.Y.
12-13: Yanna Wilson, Henderson, Nev.
14-15: Nicole Gal, Oakville, Ontario
Full leaderboard: http://www.drivechipandputt.com/finals/leaderboard
Local qualfying is set for the 2020 competition.
