Ontario teen Luke DelGobbo might only be 15, but he’s going to Augusta National.
Luke, who plays out of Lookout Point in Fonthill, Ont., and practices in the winter at our Golf Town location in St. Catharines, qualified for the annual Drive, Chip and Putt competition at Augusta National, taking place just before the start of the Masters. He’s one of three Canadians heading to Georgia for the final, with 80 golfers, male and female, competing in various age groups.
We’ve lent our simulators and putting green to Luke to continue to work on his game while there is snow on the ground. He visits our St. Catharines store three times a week to practice.
“I’m hugely thankful for that,” he says. “It would be really expensive for me to get ready for this otherwise.”
The Drive, Chip and Putt competition is a free nationwide junior golf development competition aimed at growing the game of golf. As the name suggests, it focuses on the three fundamental skills employed in golf and points are awarded based on skill in the three categories.
DelGobbo is a unique story. Neither of his parents play golf, and DelGobbo only became interested in the sport three years ago.
“I saw a putt drop in the centre of the cup and kind of got addicted to it,” he says. His game steadily improved and last year his coach suggested he try out for the Drive, Chip and Putt competition. The only hurdle was Luke would have to get through three qualifiers in order to make it to the finals. It was a daunting proposition. In all, there are more than 260 qualifying sites in the U.S. and Canada, with each of the top three participants at each location moving to the secondary qualifiers. Luke’s first qualifier—which he admits he barely made it through—occurred in June, but after winning the second round, he was confident going to Winged Foot, a famed New York private club that has hosted the U.S. Open.
It was at Winged Foot that a 260-yard drive put him in a solid position to move forward.
That means Luke now has a little over a month to prepare for Augusta.
“I’m trying to use my time at Golf Town really effectively,” says the Grade 9 student, a fan of Jordan Spieth.
What’s next? Not surprisingly, Luke is dreaming of the PGA Tour.
“If I could play golf as a pro, that would be great,” he says. “But I also know so few make the PGA Tour. But it is definitely on my mind.”
The Drive, Chip & Putt competition takes place Sunday April 1 and is broadcast live on the Golf Channel. Tune-in to cheer Luke on!
