Jeff Shaw could tell his son Brady was going to be a golfer at a very young age.

“I remember taking him to daycare at around 2 years old and he would be watching Golf Digest videos on my ‘Nook,'” Jeff said. “Before you know it, he was trying to practice the swings.”

Now 11-year old Brady Shaw is ready to show his skills at one of golf’s most prestigious venues. 

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Shaw, who is from Pueblo, and Jacob Eagan of Castle Rock will participate in the Drive, Chip, Putt national finals Sunday, April 2, at Augusta National Golf Club — the home of The Masters. The event will be televised live by the Golf Channel at 6 a.m.

“I am very excited. It is a dream come true to get a chance to see and play on that course,” Shaw, who is in sixth grade and will compete in the boys 10-11 year-old group, said.

Eagan, who 9-years old and in third grade, will compete in the boys 7-9 age group. 

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“It means a lot to me and it’s super cool,” Eagan said. “It will be a real good challenge to my game.”

Drive, Chip, Putt gives boys and girls ages 7-15 a chance to play with their peers through qualifiers around the country. Participants need to advance through local, sub-regional and regional qualifying in each age and gender category to earn a spot in the national finals.

A joint initiative founded in 2013 by The Masters, United State Golf Association and the PGA of America, Drive, Chip and Putt is a free nationwide junior golf development competition aimed at growing the game by focusing on the three fundamental skills employed in golf.

For this year’s competition, the driving portion will take place on Augusta’s main driving range, the chipping part will take place at the chipping green and the putting will take place at one of the most historic places in golf — the 18th green.

Both Shaw and Eagan started playing golf at an early age. Shaw was around 2 while Eagan was only 10 months old when he started watching his dad, Jason, and began to fall in love with the game.

“My dad would strap my car seat into the golf cart when I was just a baby,” Eagan told the Drive, Chip, Putt website. “As soon as I could walk, I started golfing with my plastic set of clubs.”

Family is a huge part of both boys getting into golf. Their fathers introduced them to the game, and they continue to play golf with members of their family. Eagan said his whole family plays golf, including 7-year-old brother Julien and his 4-year-old sister, Sophia.

And Eagan and Shaw will have family cheering them on at Augusta. 

Shaw learned to play golf at Pueblo Country Club, and Eagan, who has played all over to develop his love of the game, both enjoy the challenge and competition of golf.  

“I love playing and just like the competition and have a love for the sport,” Shaw said. 

Eagan has already had a strong junior career. He has won over 60 golf tournaments, including the FCG Callaway National Championship in 2021. A 72 is Eagan’s lowest tournament score. 

Shaw has competed at IMG Golf Academy and in the U.S. Kids World Championships. He loved the chance to play at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta and it is his favorite course so far. East Lake is where the PGA hosts The Tour Championship each season. Shaw’s best score on 18 holes is 4-under-par.

Shaw wants golf to be his career and is a big fan of one of the PGA Tour’s most popular golfers.

“I really like Jordan Speith,” Shaw said. “I love to watch him play and like how he talks to the ball.”

Eagan is a fan of one of Speith’s best friends in Justin Thomas and enjoyed watching him win the PGA Championship. Eagan also has a connection to one of the greatest golfers.

“Arnold Palmer, because he is one of the greatest golfers to ever play, and we share the same birthday,” Eagan said. “My family has called me ‘the King’ since I was born.”

***

This week in golf

PGA

WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

When: Wednesday-Sunday

Site: Austin Country Club – Austin, Texas

Defending champ: Scottie Scheffler

Purse: $20 million

TV: Thursday-Friday, Noon-6 pm (Golf Channel); Saturday, 8 am to 10 am (Golf Channel), 10 am-4 pm (NBC); Sunday, 8 am to noon (Golf Channel), 1-5 pm (NBC).

***

Corales Puntacana Championships

When: Thursday-Sunday

Site: Puntacana Resort & Club (Corales Golf Course) – Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Defending champ: Chad Ramey

Purse: $3.8 million

TV: Thursday-Friday, 8:30-11:30 am (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, Noon-3 pm (Golf Channel).

***

LPGA

Drive On Championship

When: Thursday-Sunday

Site: Superstition Mountain Golf Club – Gold Canyon, Ariz.

Defending champ: Leona Maguire

Purse: $1.75 million

TV: Thursday-Friday, 7-9 pm (Golf Channel-tape delay); Saturday-Sunday, 5-7 pm (Golf Channel).

***

Champions

The Galleri Classic

When: Friday-Sunday

Site: Mission Hills Country Club – Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Defending champ: N/A

Purse: $2 million

TV: 9-11 pm (Golf Channel-tape delay); Saturday-Sunday, 3-5 p.m. (Golf Channel).

***

DP World Tour

Jonsson Workwear Open

When: Thursday-Sunday

Site: The Club at Steyn City – Johannesburg, South Africa

Defending champ: N/A

Purse: $1.5 million

TV: None

***

Korn Ferry 

Club Car Championship at The Landings

When: Thursday-Sunday

Site: The Landings Golf & Athletic Club (Deer Creek) – Savannah, Georgia

Defending champ: T.J. Vogel

Purse: $1 million

TV: None

***

Skins game

Odds to win WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

— Tournament started Wednesday

Scottie Scheffler +900

Jon Rahm +1200

Rory McIlroy +1400

Patrick Cantlay +1600

Collin Morikawa +2000

Tony Finau +2000

Xander Schauffele +2000

—Odds from SuperBook Colorado

***

World Golf Rankings

Player, points

1. Scottie Scheffler, 533.09049

2. John Rahm, 415.83332

3. Rory McIlroy, 393.87969

4. Patrick Cantlay, 284.34310

5. Cameron Smith, 243.99023

6. Max Homa, 269.32387

7. Xander Schauffele, 252.23615

8. Will Zalatoris, 234.10644

9. Viktor Hovland, 262.88793

10. Justin Thomas, 227.04284

Ryder Cup standings

United States

Captain: Zach Johnson

Player, points

1. Scottie Scheffler, 15,336.423

2. Max Homa, 6,271.810

3. Will Zalatoris, 5,461.634

4. Justin Thomas, 5,080.175

5. Collin Morikawa, 4,661.095

6. Kurt Kitayama, 3,880.605 

7. Cameron Young, 3,465.003

8. Patrick Cantlay, 3,465.003

9. Tom Hoge, 3,259.809

10. Chris Kirk, 3,180.545

11. Jordan Speith, 2,982.330

12. Keegan Bradley, 2,870.499

Note: The U.S. team will be made up from the top six eligible players in the points rankings with six captain’s picks

Europe

Captain: Luke Donald

European points

1. Rory McIlroy, 1,856.5

2. Jon Rahm, 1,850

3. Yannik Paul, 1,269.97

4. Victor Perez, 1,252.49

5. Adrian Otaegui, 1020.51

6. Alex Noren, 1017.5

 World points

1. Jon Rahm, 204.95

2. Rory McIlroy, 155.9

3. Tyrell Hatton, 107.95

4. Viktor Hovland, 102.14

5. Shane Lowry, 60.92

6. Tommy Fleetwood, 60.21

Note: The European team will be made up from the top three eligible players from the European Points List, the top three eligible players from the World Points List and six captain’s picks.

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