Carson Veilleux, 10, of Auburn will compete in a Drive, Chip & Putt subregional qualifier in Haverhill, Massachusetts on August 11. Veilleux is a fifth-grader at Fairview Elementary School.
AUBURN — Carson Veilleux is ready to drive, chip and putt his way to Augusta National in Augusta, Georgia, the home of the Masters.
The Auburn 10-year-old will be heading to Renaissance Golf Club in Haverhill, Massachusetts, on Aug. 11 to compete in the subregional qualifier for the National Drive, Chip and Putt competition.
National Drive, Chip and Putt was introduced in 2013 by the Masters tournament, United States Golf Association and The PGA of America, and was focused on the three fundamental parts of the game: driving, chipping and putting.
Veilleux qualified for the subregional by winning the local 10/11-year-old boys qualifier that was held June 1 at Val Halla in Cumberland. He finished with a total score of 85.
“I did pretty good on my drives, not so good on the chipping; the putting wasn’t the best, but it was pretty good.” Veilleux said.
His mother, Karen, said there weren’t high expectations for the qualifier because it had already been a hectic day.
“He had a baseball game at Auburn Suburban that morning,” Karen Veilleux said. “We literally jumped in the car, came home, changed clothes and flew down to Val Halla in Cumberland. He had 10 minutes to warm up, and he was (in the driving competition).”
Carson said his plan was simply to go out and do his best.
“It was my first time doing it, if I lost, I would try to come back next year and win it,” Carson Veilleux said.
His mother said it was the first time that their schedule has allowed Carson to compete at the local qualifier.
Players are allowed only three shots at each discipline. Veilleux racked up a score of 35 during the putting competition, which included putts from 6, 15 and 30 feet. For the chipping portion, players take shots from 10 to 15 yards away from the hole.
There are scoring rings around the hole for the putting and chipping portion to determine the players score. A hole-in-one is worth 25 points, and the point totals drop the farther the ball is from the hole when it comes to a rest.
As Carson Veilleux said, chipping wasn’t his strength that day, as he scored 18 points.
He started the day off well, as he launched the longest drive for his age group at 173 yards, and he kept all three balls inside 40-yard-wide fairway.
“They started with the drives, his drive is probably the strongest of the three skills,” Karen Veilleux said. “All three of his drives were on the fairway, nothing went out of bounds. That’s tough, some kids had drives that went out of bounds. All of his were in bounds and all were very long. I thought he did well in chipping and I thought he did well at putting.”
The drive, chip and putt qualifier wasn’t the only golf success Veilleux has had this summer. The week after the local qualifier he won the U.S. Kids (Portland) Tour Championship at Belgrade Lakes, where he shot 10-over for nine holes.
Since Veilleux qualified for the subregional, he has been working on all three facets of his game.
“I usually just go out and chip balls and hit balls, putt, go to the driving range,” Carson Veilleux said.
He said he’s been working on the chipping and he’s getting better at the distance control, but still has a few that skid past the hole.
“He just loves golf, he has the personality for golf,” Karen Veilleux said. “He’s reasonably patient and it’s something he enjoys, it’s something he can play the rest of his life. He plays baseball and basketball, but some of those sports aren’t lifelong sports like golf is.”
Carson Veilleux will have to finish in the top two of his age group to move onto the regional at TPC River Highlands in Cromwall, Connecticut, the home of the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship, on Sept. 29. Regional qualifiers advance to Augusta National for the national final, which will take place the Sunday before the Masters next April.
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