Anchorage teen wins chance to compete at Augusta National

Sunday in April. 18th hole at Augusta National. Ian Bruchhauser of Anchorage lines up his putt, 30 feet away from the championship.

It could happen.

On the Sunday before the 2019 Masters, the 15-year-old will compete at the sixth annual Drive, Chip and Putt national championships at one of the sport's most revered venues — and one of the world's most exclusive clubs.

Bruchhauser, a Dimond High student, earned the right to compete at Augusta next spring by winning a regional championship Sunday at Chambers Bay in Washington.

The victory followed wins in the state competition at Anchorage Golf Course in June and a sub-regional competition at Meriwether National Golf Club in Oregon.

Bruchhauser is the first Alaskan to qualify for the national championships, according to drivechipandputt.com.

"It's huge," AGC golf pro Tom Farris said. "It's a pretty grueling process. You have to win the division here, which isn't a big deal, and then go to a sub-regional that takes kids from 20 different clubs and then to the regional, which is the entire West Coast.

"So yeah, it's a big deal."

Bruchhauser is one of 10 regional champions in the boys 14-15 age division. He clinched the victory on the final putt of the competition, where the golfers were challenged by a 30-foot downhill putt on the 18th hole at Chambers Bay, the site of the 2015 U.S. Open.

Bruchhauser's putt stopped less than a foot from the hole. It was worth 25 points, giving him a total of 140 and a 12-point advantage over runner-up Owen Price of Tacoma.

"We're not supposed to win this," Michele Bruchhauser, Ian's mom, told drivechipandputt.com.

That's because the golf season in Alaska happens in a blink. Golfers at AGC are lucky if they can get on real greens by mid-April, and they're lucky if they can play beyond September. Winter means practicing indoors at the Fox Hollow Golf Course and Sports Dome, or not at all.

"We just brave the conditions," Bruchhauser told drivechipandputt.com.