(Augusta, GA – Sunday, April 7, 2024) Two young ladies represented Wisconsin at the Drive Chip & Putt National Finals. McKenna Nelson and Taytum Oswald are enjoying the grounds of Augusta National today during the Monday practice round. The coolest part? They both will be bringing hardware back home after stellar performances in their respective age divisions. 2024 marks a special year – it has been exactly one decade since the USGA, PGA of America and The Masters Tournament conceived a one-of-a-kind skills competition where boys and girls all over the country set out to advance through qualifying stages in hopes of competing at Augusta National during Masters week. What’s even more special? McKenna Nelson, the 2023 Wisconsin State Golf Association’s Player of the Year, is the first Wisconsin junior to be crowned Champion at the DCP Finals. For starters, her 262-yard-drive was amongst four golfers in her age group that shattered the previous record for longest drive at the Finals (251 yards). Next up: chipping – followed by putting on the 18th green. Chipping proved to be troublesome for a few competitors, including Nelson, but she was quick to bounce back. She put together a solid second chip and headed to the putting competition knowing she “wanted to put herself in a good place where she (thought) she could do it (win).” (Clip from Golf Channel’s Kira K. Dixon below). Long story short, she needed to land both the 15-footer and 30-footer within 3.5 feet. The 30-foot putt is first in the rotation – McKenna’s attempt fell within 2’7″ of the hole. The Beaver Dam native rolled the 15 -footer a mere 8″ from the cup to capture first place. A sigh of relief? Certainly. All the hard work paid off. She was just a few minutes away from the trophy ceremony. Taytum (Oswald) finished third overall in the Girls 10-11 age division. The Beloit native placed 3rd and 2nd, respectively, in the driving and chipping disciplines but fell short in putting. Her brother, Trey Oswald, caddied for her during the competition. For Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals results – click here.

The purpose of the WPGA Junior Foundation scholarship program is to assist graduating high school and college students in financing their college education. There are 2 separate scholarship forms. One is for graduating high school seniors and the other is for current college students. Please choose the appropriate one. In 2023, the WPGA Junior Foundation awarded 33 scholarships totaling $65,000. We anticipate awarding even more in 2024. All applications will be taken online. Please make sure you have your transcripts and letters of recommendations forms available to attach to your application online. High School Applicants - Click Here to apply online College Applicants - Click Here to apply online Deadline for both scholarship applications is April 24, 2024. #LendAHand Scholarship #LendAHand was created with the goal of helping those in need to get back on the golf course and playing in events throughout the state. We recognize the many financial hardships families continue to endure and we want to give back! Thanks to the help of our donors, we are able to offer accepted applicants up to $100 towards tournament registration fees. Apply here

Check out the Year in Review from our 2023 Junior season

We are hiring interns for the 2024 season

The 36th Annual Lake Arrowhead Invitational wrapped up on August 7. This annual invite posts the best junior golfers in the state. We would like to congratulate our Girls Champion is Kylie Walker of Kenosha WI. Kylie shot rounds of 70-71 to finish at 3-under 141. Her great play at this event has given her an automatic spot for the 2024 Wisconsin Cup Team. Congratulations Kylie!! Tyson Sparks of Muskego, WI was our Boys Champion. Tyson shot rounds of 73-66 to finish at 5-under 139. His great play at this event has given him an automatic spot for the 2024 Wisconsin Cup Team. Congratulations Tyson!! What a great 2 days at Lake Arrowhead for the 36th Annual Lake Arrowhead Invitational. Congratulations all of our winners of the event. Huge thank you to General Manager Joel Barth, PGA. Head Golf Professional Darryl Sorbo, PGA. Superintendent Ken Lacy for hosting this event. Click here for complete results

The 2023 Scholarship Winners Announced

Article by: Rick Pledl Jessica Guiser and Aiden Cudney will represent Wisconsin at the national PGA Junior Championship in August after their terrific play in Milwaukee this week. Guiser, of Hartland, and Cudney, who lives in Kimberly, won the overall girls and boys titles at the Wisconsin PGA Junior Championship in Milwaukee on Thursday – a 36-hole tournament which annually attracts Wisconsin’s largest junior field. The event is held at Brown Deer Park GC and Dretzka Park GC on Milwaukee’s north side, and it has major implications. Not the least of those is the chance to play in the PGA Junior Championship, which will be held this season at Hot Springs CC in Arkansas. Guiser, who on Thursday earned a spot in the national event for the third time, knows just what a cool experience it is. Guiser, who has verbally committed to play golf at the University of Florida, said the national tournament is a goal for her each year. At 17, she will also be eligible to play Wisconsin junior events and possibly qualify for the PGA Junior again next season. “Since I’ve been there before, I think it’s made me realize how special that tournament is,” Guiser said. “People come from across the country for that tournament, and being able to play with other people at such a high caliber event is really an amazing experience.” Guiser hopes to improve on her recent finishes at the PGA Junior, as she came close to making the 36-hole cut both times she played the event. Guiser led after the first round this week in Milwaukee after shooting a score of 71 at Brown Deer (all girls play Brown Deer then Dretzka, while the boys play them in the opposite order). In round two at Dretzka, Guiser made one blemish when she bogeyed the par-4 sixth hole, but the rest of her round was exceptional. She made three birdies on the day, plus an eagle on the par-5 eighth hole, which she remembered as playing longer this year than last. “I didn’t know if I would be able to reach the green in two or not,” she said. But she did reach it, with a 4-iron shot from about 190 yards. Then she rolled in the 25-foot putt for eagle. Cudney, who is also 17, lost a one-hole sudden-death playoff last year to Sebastian Kasun at Brown Deer, but there would be no such drama this time. Cudney shot the round of the tournament in the second round Thursday with a remarkable 6-under-par 65 at Brown Deer. Cudney’s round was unusual because he was even through his first nine holes, and then he erupted for six birdies on the back nine. He birdied his last three holes Thursday to pull away. Cudney opened with a 71 at Dretzka Wednesday, so he finished the tournament at 7-under-par 136. Mason Schmidtke of Sheboygan (69-70) and Tyson Sparks of Muskego (70-69) tied for second place at 139. Cudney emerged from a packed leaderboard to earn his three-stroke win. After Wednesday’s first round at Dretzka Park, 23 players stood within four strokes of the lead, held by Waylan Hang of Menomonee Falls and Mason Schmidtke of Sheboygan, who both opened with rounds of 68. Cudney was tied for fourth place entering the final round after shooting a first-round 71. The top of the leaderboard for the overall girls championship this year looked eerily similar to last year’s. The top three this year were the same as in 2022. Guiser won the girls title by six strokes on rounds of 71-68–139 to finish at 4 under par. Norah Roberts of Racine finished runner-up to Guiser again this year, shooting scores of 74-71–145. And Payton Haugen of Brookfield, who shot 72-74–146, finished third overall for the second straight time. Alex Kim of Brookfield won the boys 13-15 age division after shooting scores of 75-72–147. Cudney won the boys 16-18 age category. Haugen claimed the girls 13-15 competition, and Guiser won among girls ages 16-18. View Full Junior Championship Leaderboard

Addie Lupton (Waunakee) and Alex Kim (Elm Grove) set to compete on Sunday, April 2nd on golf's grandest stage