Michigan Golf Journal November 2021

Michigan Golf Journal Drive, Chip and Putt It wasn’t for another five days after Bentley won the Oakland Hills Regional that any of his friends at school found out. Bentley was not flaunting it, despite being on local TV in Jackson. “They finally looked my name up (on the Internet) and saw I was going to The Masters,” he said. “He’s very humble when it comes to this stuff but it’s funny because when we do or play stuff, he is pretty trash talkie, so it’s nice to see the humble side of it,” Brian Coon said. “It’s very good. “I tell him he’s a very good golfer for 11, but you’re still 11. Five years from now these kids can be beating you, you never know, so be humble and respect the game.” Bentley said he hopes to meet lots of pro golfers at Augusta and that his favorite Masters winner is Dustin Johnson, “because he can hit it far.” Bentley knocked his longest drive at Oakland Hills 253 yards. He said it was the first time he got all three drives inside the grid; normally one goes out. He reached the same Regional level at Oakland Hills in 2019 at age 9, but didn’t win. Then in 2020 there was no competition due to Covid. Tens of thousands of kids seized the opportunity to participate in Drive, Chip and Putt this year, which began with local qualifying at hundreds of courses throughout the country over the summer, including more than a dozen sites in Michigan. These qualifiers are open each year to young golfers of all skill and experience levels. The top finishers from each local qualifier in 2021 advanced to sub-regionals in August and then regional competitions in September and October, concluding with the regional qualifier at Oakland Hills Country Club. MGJ These were all the winners at Oakland Hills who advanced: Boys 14-15: William Redden, Evansville IN Girls 14-15: Mia Hammond, Crooksville OH Boys 12-13: Jacob Thompson, Louisville KY Girls 12-13: Athena Singh, Morehead KY Boys 10-11: Bentley Coon, Horton MI Girls 10-11: Maya Keuling, Carmel IN Boys 7-9: Matthew White, Lexington KY Girls 7-9: Calista Han, Lewis Center OH