Eight young champions won trips to Augusta National on Saturday for the week of the 2022 Masters Tournament in Augusta, Ga.
As a warmup for the beauty there next spring, they qualified with victories in the Drive, Chip, and Putt regional qualifier at The Alotian Club, a 15-minute drive west of Little Rock in Roland near the southern shore of Lake Maumelle.
Boys and girls 8- to 15-years old competed in the event, with the 14-15-year-old divisions won by Krysta Loftin of Pearland, Texas, and Lucky Cruz, of Magnolia, Texas.
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"[The Alotian] is very nice," Loftin said. "I love the greens, just everything about it."
Expectations of its owner Warren Stephens and members were met when The Alotian opened in 2004 as a golfer's paradise carved into the plush, wooded rolling hills that begin near Little Rock and extend through and beyond the Ouachita National Forest.
Light morning mist turned to hard rain by lunchtime. Nearby lightning led to a 90-minute delay, but the sky cleared, the humidity plummeted, and the bright sun exposed early hints of fall in hardwood colors on the edge of change.
Cruz spoke of Alotian's beauty, but he said he was overwhelmed by the thought of a trip to legendary Augusta National.
"I can't wait to just have both of my feet on Augusta dirt," Cruz said. "I haven't been there yet, but I'm so excited."
Chloe Freville of Little Rock was among her division's girls who entered with hope for a trip coveted by golfers since Augusta National's Masters was first played in 1934.
Freville struggled early in the 14-15 age division. Competitors began the event with their drivers in a stage that rewarded accuracy as well as distance. Freville drove her first two shots out of bounds, right of the 40-yard fairway, but the third landed on target, 215 yards away. By her final putt, 20 minutes later, she had climbed into fourth overall.
Her coach, First Tee of Central Arkansas director of instruction Brad Martin, watched with Freville's parents Mike and Laura as the teen walked from the putting green, momentarily forlorn with disappointment.
"She is very competitive," Martin said. "She should be. I would've been surprised if she hadn't been upset. She always wants to do well."
The Frevilles adopted Chloe when she was 2 years old. They and their two sons flew to Chloe's native China to bring her home to Arkansas.
She began her athletic pursuit as a basketball player.
"She didn't like the contact," Laura Freville said.
Chloe Freville followed her brothers to First Tee and has since studied golf under Martin for the last five seasons. Ten minutes after her fourth-place finish, in a display of a quality common to successful golfers, Freville had regained her self-assurance.
"I'm very happy I made it this far," she said. "It's an opportunity I appreciate a lot. I could've done a little better, but I gave it my best."
This was Freville's first trip to Alotian.
"The atmosphere here is great, and this course is so pretty," she said.
Alotian head professional Nick Bryan, along with colleague Matt Fraser, directed this Drive, Chip, and Putt regional for 96 qualifiers. Bryan has worked for The Alotian Club since 2014 and said it is nice to see the jewel from a different perspective.
"It's always good to be here," Bryan said. "I know how great we have it, but sometimes you get used to it. Seeing the sparkle in everyone's eyes, it helps you to appreciate what you have."