March 17, 2025 •Peyton Snow
Five top junior golfers were honored at the second annual STPGA Drive, Chip & Putt Media Day.
MONTGOMERY, TX (MARCH 17, 2025) - Today, the Southern Texas PGA hosted our second annual Drive, Chip & Putt Media Day at Bluejack National to celebrate five junior golfers and their awesome accomplishment of reaching the 11th Annual Drive, Chip & Putt. These five junior golfers will represent not only themselves but the STPGA at the upcoming DCP National Finals at Augusta National.
The National Finals will be played on Sunday, April 6th at the famous Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, GA. Ava Frazier, Alana Villarreal, Blake Ayuso, Andrew Bird, and Dawson Dial will all represent the STPGA alongside 80 junior golfers representing 28 U.S. states, two Canadian provinces and India that qualified throughout the country. Drive, Chip & Putt is a grow the game initiative where thousands of juniors participate in local, sub-regional, and then regional competitions to reach the National Finals.
Ava Frazier of Austin, Texas is 14 years old and has been an STPGA Junior Golfer since 2017. She holds 52 wins and three junior championship victories. Ava punched her ticket to the National Final at the Regional Qualifier at Fields Ranch PGA Frisco. She showcased how well rounded her skill set is when she finished with a total score of 126 by placing in the top 3 of each category highlighted by her first place finish in the Drive Skill where she tallied a total of 44 points. This will be Ava's second appearance in Augusta as she was also a National Finalist in 2021.
When asked about making her second appearance at Augusta, Ava says, "I'm excited to return to Augusta and this time around I want to make sure I remember every moment and take it all in."
Alaina Villarreal of Richmond, Texas is 11 years old and has been with the STPGA since 2021 with an impressive track record of 38 wins and a championship title. She also qualified through the regional at Fields Ranch where she finished in the top three of each skill! Most notably, at the Chip and Putt Skill she totaled 90 points between the two skills. Her remarkable hands from the fringe and keen eye on the green propelled her to a total score of 120 points and a trip to Augusta!
When asked about the lessons she takes away from tournaments Alaina says, "I like to learn something from each and every event I play in, they're all different in terms of preparation and I love to see my hard work pay off."
Blake Ayuso of Cypress, Texas is 9 years old and has also been with the STPGA since 2021. He has an astounding 49 wins including three championships. Blake flashed both power and accuracy during the Regional Qualifier at the Drive Skill. He had the two longest drives in the Boys 7-9 division with each of them traveling over 210 yards! He also went on to take gold in the Chip Skill and ultimately finished with a score of 146 points outdoing second place by 46 points!
When asked what lessons from the qualifier he wants to take with him, Blake said, "I want to take with me the mentality of just having fun, win or lose just enjoy myself."
Andrew Bird of Nacogdoches, Texas is 14 years old and qualified up in Dallas at Fields Ranch and will be playing in the 14-15 Division. Since beginning with the STPGA in 2023 he has already earned 11 victories and one championship! At the regional finals, he displayed both power and precision at the Dive Skill where he finished with a score of 65. Andrew’s performance at the Drive Skill helped run away with the Boys 14-15 division as he finished with a score of 170 outdoing 2nd place by 20 points!
When asked what he is most looking forward to at Augusta, Andrew says "I'm most looking forward to walking up 18, that would be a dream."
Dawson Dial of Cedar Park, Texas has been an STPGA junior golfer since 2018 and since then he has amassed a whopping 48 wins including 2 season championships. He earned a total score of 162 points across the three skills during his regional finals. This was enough to outdo second place by 25 points! His dominance at the Regional Qualifier can in large part be credited to his performance with the flat stick. He sunk two of his three putts with him being the only player to make a 30 foot putt in his division.
When asked who he wanted to thank, Dawson said "I want to thank my dad because he is always there for me whether I am having a good or bad day out on the course."
For all five of these junior golfers, this will be one of the many accolades in their golf careers, as they have played an astounding number of tournaments with the STPGA, taking home an impressive 198 victories and they are only just getting started.
This unique media day allowed for the five finalists to participate in a press conference, as well as one on one interviews with local news channels. They received some goodie bags, participated in challenges and played a round of golf together afterward.
Be on the lookout for fun content from the event on STPGA Junior Golf social media from now until the National Finals and then watch them on Golf Channel April 7th!
Please click below to view the final photo gallery, full press conference, and for more information about Drive, Chip, and Putt!
