NLR golfer, 11, driven to win at Augusta

There will be no professional golfers with Arkansas ties playing next week at the Masters, but the state will be represented when activities kick off Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club.

Mackenzie Lee of North Little Rock is one of 80 junior golfers in four age divisions representing 30 states and three Canadian provinces who will participate in the second annual Drive, Chip and Putt Championship National Finals at Augusta's hallowed grounds. Mackenzie, who will participate in the girls 10-11 division, will be joined by fellow Arkansans, Charlie Whorton of Springdale (girls 7-9) and Dongsoo Lee of Fayetteville (boys 12-13).

Mackenzie, 11, earned her trip to Augusta by winning a local qualifier at the First Tee of Central Arkansas before winning the regional qualifying title in Tulsa. That secured her a spot in the super regional last fall in Dallas, where she not only won the event but earned the highest qualifying score among the nine others she will compete against at Augusta.

"She's got a tremendous short game," said Brad Martin, director of golf at First Tee of Central Arkansas, who has been working with Mackenzie. "Driving is her only weak point. She's going to putt it good. She's going to chip it good. I am sure there are going to be some big girls down there. It's just going to be how the big girls do in their short game."

A medical condition has limited Mackenzie's growth. She stands just under 4 feet tall and weighs about 60 pounds, but she said she won't back down from the bigger competition she will likely see at Augusta, including Kelly Xu of Santa Monica, Calif., who won last year's 7-9 championship but is in the 10-11 division this year.

"I'm driven to win when I get there," said Mackenzie, a fifth-grader at LISA Academy in North Little Rock. "It's fun getting the chance to go there, but I really want to win."

Scoring at the local, subregional and regional qualifiers was based on a 25-point-per-shot basis, with each participant taking three shots per skill. Points were accumulated in all three skills with the champion in each age category determined by the most points scored. For each skill, the point system is based in incremental distance measurements, rewarding accuracy and distance in the drive skill, and proximity for chipping and putting skills.

Mackenzie made two of her three putts in Tulsa, and in Dallas she chipped in two balls from 15 yards on her way to 150 points, which were 10 more than Sunday's second-best qualifier.

Scoring in the national final will be based on a 30-point system that offers the player with the longest drive 10 points, the player with the closest cumulative chips 10 points and the player with the nearest cumulative putts 10 points.

Although she is only a few inches taller than her driver, Mackenzie said her slightly cut-down Titleist with a 10.5-degree loft and senior flex accommodates her full back swing.

"I'm hitting it about 160 yards and can hit it pretty straight," she said. "I've always had a big back swing. It feels comfortable."

Mackenzie, who has shot a 77 for 18 holes, said the only things she really knows about Augusta is "it's a really big place with good pro golfers and girls really don't play there." She said that world No. 1 Lydia Ko is her favorite golfer, and if she couldn't be a professional golfer when she grows up she would like to be a clothes designer.

Martin said Mackenzie will hold her own and is confident that her driving accuracy over her length will be rewarded.

"Some of these girls are going to be good, too, but I don't think they'll beat her at her short game," he said. "They're going have beat her on the driving range then manage some points in the short game area.

"She doesn't feel pressure."

The competition will air live beginning at 8 a.m. Sunday on the Golf Channel.

Sports on 04/03/2015