Indiana PGA, Carmel, IN.
September 20, 2026
For 96 junior golfers who arrived at Crooked Stick Golf Club on Sunday, the goal was the same: Augusta National.
Players representing nine states and Canada gathered in Carmel for the 2026 Drive, Chip and Putt Midwest Regional, the final stage of qualifying before the National Finals. Twelve competitors in each of eight age divisions for boys and girls tested their skills in driving, chipping and putting, but only one winner from each division would leave Crooked Stick with a coveted invitation to compete at Augusta National Golf Club ahead of the Masters next April.
Sunday also marked a long-awaited return for Drive, Chip and Putt in Indiana. The competition was the first regional hosted in the state since 2014, when Crooked Stick also served as the regional site. Twelve years later, the championship returned to Carmel with another group of junior golfers hoping to take the final step on the road to Augusta.
For Girls 14-15 champion Niya Chebli of New Albany, Ohio, earning that invitation had been years in the making. Chebli was competing in Drive, Chip and Putt for the seventh time, and after coming up short in previous attempts, the realization that she was finally headed to Augusta brought tears of joy. Asked what she was most looking forward to seeing when she arrives next spring, Chebli didn’t need to narrow it down.
“Everything,” she said.
Chebli’s persistence was fitting for a day filled with young golfers who have continued returning to Drive, Chip and Putt year after year. Graham Hammer of Traverse City, Michigan, was making his third appearance at the regional level after failing to advance in his previous two attempts. This time, Hammer left little doubt, leading the Boys 12-13 division in both driving and chipping with 55 points in each skill before adding 50 points in putting for a 160-point total and his first trip to the National Finals.
Others already knew exactly what awaited them at Augusta. Perri Harris of Bowling Green, Kentucky, captured the Girls 10-11 division and will make her third appearance at the National Finals. The granddaughter of former PGA Tour professional Kenny Perry, Harris led her division in driving and said experience has taught her how she wants to approach another opportunity on one of golf’s biggest stages.
“Just have fun, soak in all the moments,” Harris said.
Fun was never far from the competition at Crooked Stick. With Indianapolis Motor Speedway located just miles away, the Indiana PGA and Crooked Stick brought a little Indiana racing tradition to the regional. Checkered flags surrounded the putting green, while each of the eight champions received a bottle of milk alongside their awards—a nod to one of the most recognizable traditions surrounding the Indianapolis 500.
“If you ever become a race car driver and win the Indianapolis 500, they’ll give you one of these,” Crooked Stick Director of Golf Tony Pancake told each winner.
Girls 12-13 champion Ayla Roberts of Owensboro, Kentucky, fully embraced the tradition, celebrating her victory by pouring the milk over her head. Roberts earned 55 points in chipping and ultimately secured her trip to Augusta by just two points. Girls 7-9 champion Gianna Pope of Dayton, Ohio, also started her day strong, leading her division with 36 points in driving before tying for second in chipping and sinking her first putt. Asked to rate her experience at Crooked Stick, Pope had an easy answer: “10 out of 10.”
The other champions found their own paths through the three skills. Luke Inomata of Westerville, Ohio, won the Boys 7-9 division behind a balanced performance highlighted by 40 points in putting. Cameron Hill of Toledo, Ohio, separated himself in the Boys 10-11 division with 55 points in chipping, 10 more than anyone else in his group.
In the oldest divisions, Chebli’s 60-point chipping performance was the best of any competitor across all eight divisions. Jackson Blanda of New Albany, Ohio, overcame early nerves in the driving portion to capture the Boys 14-15 title. Blanda finished third in driving before winning both chipping and putting to secure his place at Augusta.
For each of the eight champions, Sunday represented the final step in a journey that began months earlier. Drive, Chip and Putt participants first advance through local and subregional qualifying before reaching one of 10 regional championships across the country. Boys and girls compete in four age groups—7-9, 10-11, 12-13 and 14-15—with one winner from each division advancing from the regional stage. Together, the 10 regional competitions produce a field of 80 junior golfers who will compete in the National Finals at Augusta National on the Sunday before the Masters.
Advancing from Crooked Stick to the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals are Gianna Pope, Girls 7-9; Luke Inomata, Boys 7-9; Perri Harris, Girls 10-11; Cameron Hill, Boys 10-11; Ayla Roberts, Girls 12-13; Graham Hammer, Boys 12-13; Niya Chebli, Girls 14-15; and Jackson Blanda, Boys 14-15.
For Crooked Stick and the Indiana PGA, the day marked the return of a national junior golf event that had been more than a decade in the making. The same course that welcomed Drive, Chip and Putt competitors in 2014 once again provided the stage in 2026, this time with checkered flags, bottles of milk and a little Indiana personality accompanying the competition.
For the 96 juniors who competed, reaching Crooked Stick was an accomplishment in itself. Each had already advanced through multiple stages of qualifying to earn a place at the regional.
For eight of them, the journey isn’t over.
Next spring, the checkered flags of Indiana will give way to the azaleas of Augusta National, where eight Crooked Stick champions will join the country’s best young golfers for an experience years of practice, persistence and nine pressure-filled shots helped make possible.