The Takeaway
Virginia Juniors Bring Home Medals
and Memories from Drive, Chip & Putt
at Augusta National
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V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | M AY / J U N E 2 0 1 5
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over at the golf course and said, ‘Mommy, I
want to do that.’ He fell in love with golf on
his own.”
By age 4, George had swapped the tennis
courts for the practice tee at International
Country Club. He now holds a Handicap
Index of 4.3 with a career-best score of
2-under-par 70.
At the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship,
Duangmanee’s grandfather, Johnny
Chotikul, served as his caddie while the
teenager’s parents and siblings watched in
the massive gallery. Chotikul closed his eyes
as his grandson made the putt to win before
a celebration ensued.
“This gives me a lot of confidence to play in
front of people and under pressure,” says the
champion. “Because of this event, now I know
I’m one of the best.”
Everett Whiten Jr. of Chesapeake tied
for second in the boys’ 14-15 age group. A
ninth grader at Great Bridge High School, he
finished one-half point behind the winner and
earned a share of second.
While Whiten has played AAU baseball
and basketball, he has only played golf for two
years. At age 14, Whitten’s career-best score is
a 69 at his home course, Cahoon Plantation
in Chesapeake. Even though this was his first
appearance at the Drive, Chip & Putt, the
teenager says he was not nervous.
“The whole experience was great and this
was a dream come true,” says Whiten, who
hopes to play college golf. “It was amazing
to be putting on the 18th green at Augusta
National and warm up next to Fred Couples.”
Victoria Matthews of Great Falls, tied for
fifth in the girls’ 7-9 age division. At age 9,
she has already won 11 U.S. Kids’ Golf T
our
trophies after four years of competitive golf.
Her best nine-hole score is 36 and she won the
girls’ 7-9 driving category of this year’s Drive,
Chip & Putt with a tee shot of 192 yards.
Matthews has also posted top-five finishes
in such national and regional events as the
Doral-Publix Junior Classic, the Holiday
Classic at PGA National Resort and has
qualified for the U.S. Kids Golf World
Championships in Pinehurst, N.C., the last
four years.
A fourth grader at the Nysmith School for
the Gifted in Herndon, Matthews also plays
Northern Virginian George Duangmanee took home the
title in the boys’ 12-13 age division at the Drive, Chip &
Putt Championship, prevailing in a playoff.
competitive tennis. She is ranked No. 13 in
the United States Tennis Association’s MidAtlantic 10-and-under division.
Matthews finished second in the regional
qualifier for last year’s Drive, Chip & Putt and
advanced through the regional last fall to earn
a spot in the 2015 championship.
“The entir