Lily Wachter is going back to Augusta National.
The St. Augustine native who won the girls' 10-11 division of the Augusta National Golf Club's Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals in 2024 turned in a balanced performance in all three skills on Sept. 12 at the TPC Sawgrass and won the girls' 14-15 division in the DC&P Regional Qualifier to advance to her third Finals appearance on April 4, 2027.
Wachter didn't win any of the skills contests. But she tied for second in chipping, tied for third in putting and tied for fourth in driving. Her all-around effort earned her 139 total points, and she won the division and clinched her spot at Augusta National, five clear of runner-up Alyssa Cleckly of Royal Palm Beach.
Watchter will have company from the
First Coast. Jayan Chary of Ponte Vedra Beach made all three of his putts to win that skill and added a victory in chipping to pile up 153 points, winning the boys 10-11 division by 13 over Daniel Morrell of Bluffton, S.C.
Brady Drewitt of Ponte Vedra Beach was first in putting and finished third overall in the boys 7-9 division. All second- and third-place participants will be alternates for the National Finals.
Florida Cup teams set
The 16th Florida Cup will be Oct. 12-13 at Old Memorial in Tampa, with three First Coast players on the North team.
Ty Capps of Palm Coast is an assistant captain to Steve Albright and likely will team with longtime doubles partner Tyler Gulliksen of Flagler Beach. They have won four Florida State Golf Association team events.
Also playing is Mike Smith of Ponte Vedra Beach.
The South routed the North 19-3 in the last meeting at Streamsong to take an 8-7 lead in the rivalry.
Capps and Gullikesen tuned up by finishing tied for third in defense of their FSGA Mid-Amateur Four Ball championship at Buckhorn Springs in Valrico, posting scores of 63-68--131. They finished five shots behind winners Joseph and Lucas Trim of Sarasota. Alexander Augustus of Jacksonville and Logan Neel of Orlando (132) tied for sixth.
FJT event at Eagle Trace has late fireworks
Landon Pittman of Callahan made a second-round sprint to the top in the Florida Junior Tour's 13-15 Eagle Trace Open in Coral Springs but Braden Chamberlain of Pompano Beach had other ideas ― such as a hole-in-one.
Pittman made five birdies in a 10-hole span in the second round, but Chamberlain's ace at the 17th hole made the difference as he finished with a 66 and a two-round total of 4-under 140, topping Pittman (68) by two shots and Kolton Viveros of Pompano Beach by one.
Brady Dougan of Jacksonville (69) tied for seventh at 1-over 145. Dougan had an eagle and three birdies among his first 10 holes.
In the FJT 13-15 Eagle Creek Open in Naples, Leighton Lanier of St. Johnson (152) tied for fourth in the girls' division, and Fletcher Cummings of Fleming Island (145) was fifth in the boys' division.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Lily Wachter wins Drive, Chip and Putt regional for a third trip to Augusta
