11-year-old Pueblo golfer to compete in Drive, Chip and Putt finals at Augusta National
A junior golfer from Pueblo will get his chance to shine this weekend on one of golf's grandest stages.
The 2023 Drive, Chip, and Putt Championship will take place Sunday, April 2, at Augusta National Golf Club, just before the 2023 Masters tournament takes place.
Founded in 2013 by the Masters tournament, U.S. Golf Association, and PGA of America, the Drive, Chip, and Putt Championship is a free nationwide junior golf development competition designed to grow the game by focusing on fundamental golf skills.
Only 10 qualifiers out of thousands of participants are selected to compete in the finals at Augusta. Pueblo's Brady Shaw is one of them.
More: Here are the top girls golfers from Pueblo-area high schools to watch in 2023
Brady is 11 years old and the son of Jeff Shaw, the president/CEO of the Pueblo Economic Development Corp. He is excited to go from watching golf on TV with his dad to now playing golf on TV.
“It's been amazing,” Brady said. “I've just been practicing a lot and it's just so awesome that I get to actually go to Augusta and play there.”
Practice, practice, and more practice — that's what Brady attributes to him making it through the 33 qualifying rounds he had to play to make it into the competition's top 10. Brady was able to make it through most of the qualifying rounds with ease and finished atop the leaderboard in the final round to get to Augusta.
Brady enjoys the process of improving his game, from getting his swing down just right to patiently reading the line of each putt,
“I like to drive a lot because I can hit the ball far,” Brady said. “I also like to putt a lot because if I’m going to make a long putt, for example if I make a 30-footer, I'm super happy.”
Intense competition is nothing new to Brady: he has competed in 10 world championships in his age bracket. With all that experience, his father says Brady is ready to take on this new challenge.
"It's been interesting to watch him progress — he started winning tournaments and continues to win tournaments — and just to see him in a groove," Jeff said. "But it's also such a good environment for the kids too. So seeing him out there with his friends and laughing and having a good time — and not just in the state, but because he's been to 10 world championships, some of the kids around the country or the world that he's got a chance to meet — it's really been a fun time.”
Brady hopes to come out with a victory this weekend as he competes in the Drive, Putt, and Chip competition which leads into the Masters at Augusta. He also is super excited for a chance to meet some professional golfers and possibly his idol, Jordan Spieth.
“I just love his short game, it's really good,” Brady said of Spieth. “I love the way he talks to the ball. If he hits a good shot, he’ll talk to it, or he’ll hit a bad shot talk to it and I’m just like that. I also sometimes do that and I like when he does it.
"I just want to have as much fun as I can, and I want to meet as many players as I can. We have a practice round on Monday, so I want to try and get autographs from as many players as I can.”
With so many accolades under his belt at such a young age, there is little doubt Brady is poised to turn heads in the Pueblo golf scene in the years ahead. But for now, he is focused on winning this weekend's competition on the hallowed grounds of Augusta with the course's famed azaleas blooming in the background.
Watch Brady compete live with coverage of the competition beginning Sunday, April 2, at 6 a.m. Mountain time on Peacock and the GOLF Channel.
More: Pueblo West takes second at 4A boys golf regional tourney; Wagner runner-up after playoff
Christopher Abdelmalek is a sports reporter for the Pueblo Chieftain and can be reached at cabdelmalek@gannett.com or on Twitter: @chowebacca
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: 11-year-old golfer Brady Shaw to compete at Augusta before the Masters
