By Rubin E. Grant
Emma Kate Rice might be only 11 years old, but she already knows her way around a golf course.
During Masters Week, she got a chance to compete at the prestigious Augusta National Golf Club in the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals on April 3.
A field of 40 boys and 40 girls competed in eight age divisions. Emma Kate was one of 10 golfers who competed in the 10-11 girls division. She finished third and had the time of her young life.
“It was really fun,” said Emma Kate, a fifth grader at Brookwood Forest Elementary in Mountain Brook. “Getting out there was really great. Being able to come in third was exciting. I was proud of myself.”
And so were her parents, Chris and Allison Rice.
“She did something really great,” Allison Rice said. “It was an amazing accomplishment at such a young age, and she came within two inches of winning the whole thing.”
“We’re very proud,” Chris Rice said. “She shocked us overcoming such a big challenge with a number of people in the crowd.”
The “big challenge” came during the putting competition. Emma Kate was in last place after the drive and chip, but she jumped in the standings when she sank a 30-foot putt.
“I was really excited, the most excited I’ve ever been,” she said.
Emma Kate loves putting more than anything else on the course.
“Putting comes natural for me,” she said. “It’s not easy, but it’s fun to go out and make putts. It can be nervous, but I just go through my routine and do what I have to do.”
The Drive, Chip and Putt Nationals are conducted as a partnership between the Masters Tournament, the PGA of America and the USGA. It is part of a nationwide youth development program open to boys and girls ages 7 to 15.
Local qualifying began last May at 326 sites throughout all 50 states. The top three scorers in the local qualifiers advanced to subregional qualifiers, with the two top participants in each moving on to regional competition for berths in the National Finals at the home of the Masters.
On the Monday after the competition, Emma Kate got a chance to watch some of the professionals who were going to be competing in the Masters.
“I got the signatures of a lot of pro golfers,” she said excitedly. “It was fun to see them in person and watch them practice and see them on No. 16, skipping the ball across the water.”
Looking for Challenges
Emma Kate has been playing golf since she was 7, when her dad introduced her to the sport. She regularly plays at Pine Tree Country Club in Irondale, her home course, and her coach is Liz Mattioli at Greystone Golf and Country Club.
“It gives me challenges that I like to overcome,” Emma Kate said. “And it’s fun playing with friends.”
Her lowest score is a 36 over nine holes and she has a 13 handicap. Before her third-place finish in the Drive, Chip and Putt Nationals, she said, her biggest achievement was shooting par on nine holes during the Birmingham Golf Association tournament and her most memorable moment was winning the putt medal at Bent Brook, her favorite place to play, in the local qualifying.
She won the chip medal in the subregional at RTJ Capitol Hill in Prattville and the chip and putt medals in the regional qualifying at The Bears Club in Jupiter, Florida.
Emma Kate also competes in the PGA Junior League. She will be playing in a juniors event during the Regions Tradition senior tournament in May at Greystone.
Emma Kate also plays soccer, but golf is clearly her favorite sport. She hopes to one day play in high school and college.
“I would like that,” she said. “It’s my dominant sport.”
