Castle Rock’s Sophia Eagan has ’stolen the show’ as youngest competitor ever in Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals; she places sixth at age 7; fellow Coloradans Peyton Landon, Shepherd Cedar Choi also tee it up at Augusta National
By Gary Baines – 4/5/2026
Sophia Eagan of Castle Rock may not have won a title on Sunday at the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals at Augusta National in Georgia, but she had a rare distinction before the competition even finished.
At 6 years old when she qualified — and 7 years, 3 months and 10 days by the time the National Finals rolled around — she was the youngest competitor ever in the DCP National Finals. And her enthusiasm, diminutive size — and generally just being cute — made her a favorite on this big stage.
“She’s stolen the show over the last couple of days,” broadcaster Rich Lerner said of Eagan on Golf Channel’s national telecast of the event.
Indeed, she made for a very good story all in all.
Thanks to a promise made by her parents, by earning a spot at Augusta National, Eagan was allowed to get a dog — appropriately named Magnolia — or Maggie, for short.
And this isn’t the family’s first experience with the DCP National Finals. Eagan’s older brother, Jacob, was a 2023 DCP National Finalist. In fact, Jacob lost a putt-off for an overall age-group (boys 7-9) national title that year.
“I was so proud of him, and watching him play made me want to work even harder on my own golf game,” Sophia told DriveChipAndPutt.com after qualifying for the National Finals.
On Sunday, Sophia Eagan finished sixth overall in her age/gender group (girls 7-9) out of 10 competitors — not too shabby, especially given her age. In the individual disciplines, Eagan placed third in chipping, fifth in putting and 10th in driving.
Not surprisingly, given her age record, the dog and her brother, the Golf Channel spent a fair amount of time telling Eagan’s story on Sunday.
In a questionnaire each DCP National Finalist answered, these were a couple of Sophia Eagan’s responses:
— Who is the coolest player in golf, and why?
Sophia: “I think I’m the coolest player in golf. My brother is also amazing.”
— What do you want to be when you grow up?
Sophia: “When I grow up, I want to be a golfer and play in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.”
Like all 80 junior golfers who played on Sunday at the DCP National Finals, Eagan made a dream come true by competing at Augusta National on the eve of the Masters.
Peyton Landon lines up a putt on the 18th green at Augusta National on Sunday.
Three of those 80 were from Colorado. In addition to Eagan, Shepherd Cedar Choi of Westminster competed in girls 10-11, and Peyton Landon of Fort Collins in girls 14-15. Each qualified by winning their respective Regional Qualifying titles at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., in early October. Choi made it after finishing runner-up in her division at the previous two regionals. “To finally make it to National Finals this year is my greatest moment,” she said.
Landon finished ninth overall in her division on Sunday, while Choi placed 10th.
Landon, who won the CGA State Junior 13-under girls title in 2024, almost holed her first 15-yard chip on Sunday, with the ball finishing an inch from the cup. (She ended up seventh in the chipping as her second attempt checked up 14 feet, 8 inches short of the cup.)
Asked if she’s watched the DCP National Finals in the past, Landon said in her questionnaire, “We always watch Drive, Chip and Putt on TV, and it’s actually one of the reasons why I started playing golf. I remember watching it and thinking how cool it would be to be one of those kids competing on TV.”
Mission accomplished, as they say.
At the National Finals, competitors hit two drives (longest one counts), two chips from 15 yards (cumulative distance from the hole for the two counts) and two putts (30 feet and 15 feet; cumulative distance from the hole counts).
The award presenters on Sunday were certainly eye-catching. Among them were defending Masters champion Rory McIlroy, two-time Masters winner Scottie Scheffler, World Golf Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez and Saturday’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur winner María José Marín.
While the Coloradans who made it to the National Finals qualified by winning overall regional titles in their age/gender divisions at Hazeltine National, in the past one of the regionals has been contested at Colorado Golf Club, then at Castle Pines Golf Club.
Each of the eight gender/age divisions at the National Finals features 10 competitors. In the National Finals at Augusta National, the 80 golfers compete in driving and chipping in the practice area, then in the putting on the 18th green of the famed course.
Twenty-one Coloradans over the years have now competed in the DCP National Finals, which were first held in 2014.
The previous 18 Coloradans who have been National Finalists are Caitlyn Chin twice (2016 and ’19), Luke Trujillo (2016), Arielle Keating (2016), Kaden Ford (2018), Chunya Boonta (2019), Grady Ortiz (2019), Sophia Capua (2022), Matai Naqica (2022), Anthony Chen (2022), Judd Nikkel (2022), Jacob Eagan (2023), Brady Shaw (2023), Koehn Kuenzler (2023), Landry Frost (2024), Simon White (2024), Sydney Liddell (2024), Isaiah Fowler (2025) and Hudson Blake (2025).
So at least two players from the Centennial State have qualified for each DCP National Finals from 2022 through 2026.
No Coloradan has ever won a DCP overall title at the National Finals, but three have finished runner-up: Jacob Eagan (lost in putt-off for the top spot in 2023), Shaw (also 2023) and Boonta (2019) .
In DCP events, contestants score points in each discipline based on how they place in each compared to one another, with the points added together for a cumulative total. This year, for the first time, competitors also earned pace-of-play bonuses — up to one point per discipline — for playing within 40 seconds.
Three stages of qualifying precede the National Finals: Locals, Sub-Regionals and Regionals.
Looking ahead to the 2026-27 DCP season, Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock will serve as one of 10 Regional Qualifying sites where the age/gender division winners will earn spots in the 2027 DCP National Finals. The Castle Pines qualifier is set for Sept. 13.
DCP is sponsored by the Masters, the USGA and the PGA of America. The competition is limited to players 7-15.
The DCP National Finals were first held in 2014, with the regional qualifiers conducted in 2013. The 2026 National Finals conclude the 12th DCP season. DCP national champs who have gone on to win on the PGA Tour or LPGA are Akshay Bhatia and Alexa Pano.
RESULTS SUNDAY FOR COLORADANS AT 2026 DCP NATIONAL FINALS AT AUGUSTA NATIONAL GC
SOPHIA EAGAN of Castle Rock (Sixth place overall, with 18 points, in Girls 7-9)
10th place in drive (worth 2 points) — 88.7 yards on first attempt; 94.3 yards on second attempt
Third place in chip (worth 9 points) — 5 feet, 8 inches on first attempt; 8 feet, 10 inches on second attempt = 14 feet, 6 inches cumulative from cup.
Fifth place in putt (worth 7 points) — 3 feet, 5 inches on 30-foot attempt; 3 feet, 2 inches on 15-foot attempt = 6 feet, 7 inches cumulative from cup.
PEYTON LANDON of Fort Collins (Ninth place overall, with 11.5 points, in Girls 14-15)
Seventh place in drive (worth 5 points) — 220.2 yards on first attempt; 216.9 yards on second attempt.
Seventh place in chip (worth 4.5 points) — 1 inch on first attempt; 14 feet, 8 inches for second attempt = 14 feet, 9 inches cumulative from cup.
10th place in putt (worth 2 points) — 8 feet, 10 inches on 30-foot attempt; 1 feet, 10 inches on 15-foot attempt = 10 feet, 8 inches cumulative from cup.
SHEPHERD CEDAR CHOI of Westminster (10th place overall, with 6 points, in Girls 10-11)
10th place in drive (worth 2 points) — 161.3 yards on first attempt; 164 yards on second attempt.
Ninth place in chip (worth 3 points) — 26 feet on first attempt; 6 feet, 4 inches on second attempt = 32 feet, 4 inches cumulative from cup.
10th place in putt (worth 1 point) — 8 feet, 2 inches on 30-foot attempt; 2 feet, 6 inches on 15-foot attempt = 10 feet, 8 inches cumulative from cup.
For the complete results from all eight age/gender divisions, CLICK HERE.
Colorado Golf Journal 