AUGUSTA -- Akshay Bhatia made a little bit of history Sunday afternoon.
Bhatia, a 22-year-old who in 2018 won the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, won the PGA Tour's Texas Open to earn an invitation to this coming week's Masters Tournament.
He's the first Drive, Chip & Putt national finalist to make it to the Masters. More will certainly come, and Sunday morning's DCP National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club gave the world a glimpse at some potential future participants.
"It's amazing to putt not just on what green Scottie (Scheffler) putted on, but all the other professional golfers putted on," said Texas Terry, champion of the boys' 10-11 age group. "It's just amazing to hit shots at Augusta."
It's a sentiment shared annually by the participants, and in recent years it hasn't just been a connection to the Masters - the girls' qualifiers have had their eyes on the Augusta National Women's Amateur, too.
"It made me really want to get there very soon," girls' 14-15 champion McKenna Nelson said, drawing some laughs. "I just think just watching, I played in a USGA event earlier in May of last year and some girls that were there played in it, so just seeing that was just really cool."
It was already going to be a special weekend for everyone who earned an invitation, but it was made even more so for Dixie Mae Crain. Crain had a special guest in the crowd - her mother Sherry, who's been stationed in Bahrain with the U.S. Navy. The two hadn't seen each other since June, making this weekend an even sweeter reunion.
"We came down here and just wanted to have fun, and then the surprise about my mom coming," said Crain, who said it was amazing to have her mom there in person and be able to hug her. "Apparently, they were keeping it from me for like three months. I had no idea. It was just so emotional seeing her being able to be here."
The emotions always run high at Augusta National, and it's something the champions talk about during the Masters Tournament and Augusta National Women's Amateur. It's no different for the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals.
"I was definitely really nervous, and I just had to take a lot of deep breaths to calm my nerves a little bit," said Connor Holden, the boys' 14-15 champion. "That last putt, I know it's fast, so I barely had to even hit it and just get it within one foot and 11 inches, and that won the national title."
