For a 12-year-old, Haverhill’s Callen Cronin was pretty honest and very wise when he noted what it takes to win a regional and qualify for the finals of the National Drive, Chip and Putt Championships.
“You need to have skill, but it takes luck, too. If you get one or two unlucky bounces, you are out of the competition.”
Well, when you go out on Saturday, as Cronin did at Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey, and dominate the regional, earning a trip to the championship finals at Augusta National during Masters Week in April, you know it’s no fluke.
Cronin, the 10-11-year-old regional champ in 2023, grabbed the 12-13-year-old title this time around in style.
“I was excited, a little nervous because I really wanted to qualify. There’s always that pressure and the stress about it,” said Cronin. “It just feels great to win again.”
Cronin, who basically is a scratch golfer and has played his whole life out of Bradford Country Club, put it all together on Saturday, in a competition where each player – who has already advanced through two levels of qualifying – gets three drives, three chips and three putts in the competition.
“I hit all three drives in, and that was pretty nice. It got me off to a good start. I didn’t hit a good first chip, but I came back nicely,” said Cronin, a seventh-grader at the Hillview Montessori School in Ward Hill. “Putting and chipping are where you get your points in. The greens were really fast, not as fast as Augusta, but they were up there.
It came down to putting.
Cronin made the six-footer, then hit his 15-footer and 30-footer inside the closest ring (within two feet)to claim the top spot.
Cronin, whose best round on the summer tourney circuit, was a six-under par 65 at The Ridge Club in Gilford, N.H., didn’t spend too much time celebrating.
After his four-hour drive home, he turned his focus to Haverhill Travel Basketball tryouts on Sunday.
He can’t wait to head back to August for a second time.
“It was just amazing being at the golf course, being able to go there, seeing the overall layout,” Cronin said. “I’ll probably just enjoy most of the same stuff I did the last time and find some time to do the stuff that I may have missed.”