EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Natalia Velasquez, a 13-year-old golfer with the First Tee-Greater El Paso program, punched her ticket to the nationally televised Drive, Chip, and Putt National Finals held at the prestigious Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia every year, a week before the Masters tournament.
“It just felt so surreal. You dreamt of it. You’ve seen it in your mind 100 times, and it’s just amazing to actually be there,” Velasquez said.
Velasquez will be one of 10 finalists competing at Augusta National in her age category of 12- to 13-year-olds.
The Drive, Chip, and Putt competition challenges young golfers between the ages of 7 to 15 to showcase their driving, chipping, and putting skills through three attempts of each shot at regional qualifiers throughout the country.
Velasquez will represent the South-Central region after placing first at the regional qualifiers held on Sept. 29 at the Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco, Texas.
“It’s really hard to stay in the moment, because you know what you’re looking up to, what you’re fighting for. You just have to stay in the moment and be calm,” Velasquez said.
To compete at regionals in Frisco, Velasquez first had to place in the first two spots for regional competitions held at Midland and Amarillo earlier this year.
Velasquez said she had participated at the Drive, Chip, and Putt regional qualifiers three times before, but had fallen short of reaching Augusta National.
Last month, however, she accumulated 142 points to finish first among 14 golfers. She outscored everyone in the chip and putt attempts with 50 and 60 points, respectively, and scored the fourth most points in the drive attempts with 32 points.
You can check out Velasquez’s results from Frisco by clicking here.
Velasquez’s resilience at Frisco demonstrated that her skill is evolving and taking the next step in her young career, said her mentor, Kristi Albers, a retired professional golfer.
Kristi Albers & Natalia Velasquez
“For her to make it to Augusta Nationals is huge because it’s so hard to do. It’s so hard to accomplish,” Albers said. “(Velasquez) has had a lot of experience with the (Drive, Chip, and Putt) and she just did amazing (at Frisco). As she gets more experience, she gets more confidence, and that’s everything (in golf).”
Albers, an El Paso native, was active on the LPGA Tour for 22 years. She is now the executive director of First Tee-Greater El Paso, the chapter of the national nonprofit organization that develops youth golfers through a variety of programs, and which helped form Velasquez.
“That’s our goal. We want to develop a lot better players. We have kids 7, 8, 9 (years old). That is the meat of our program right now, so kids are starting much younger now,” Albers said.
Velasquez has been part of the First Tree program since she was 4 years old, when her father first took her. Velasquez said she took on the love of the game after her father and her older brother, who was also part of the First Tree program and now plays golf at Coronado High School.
“It’s been a wonderful journey with (Velasquez) and her brother. It’s been really fun. We’ve stuck together and watching their progress has been amazing,” Albers said. “I’m so excited to see what the next 5 to 10 years are for them.”
Velasquez dreams of becoming a professional golfer one day and playing on the LPGA Tour like Albers, but for now she reflected on her young developing journey.
“Usually you get into this once you understand it. But my dad brought his little 4-year-old here. It seems crazy,” Velasquez said.
To learn more about First Tee-El Paso and their programs, you can visit their website by clicking here.
Read: Read More