LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — An up-and-coming junior golfer in southern Nevada has accomplished what she calls the biggest feat of her young career.
9-year-old Charlotte Halstead, who goes by Charlie, was one of 80 U.S. golfers in the age 7-9 group selected to compete in the Drive, Chip, & Putt National Final on April 6 at the famed Augusta National Golf Course.
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The event is on the day before The Masters Tournament begins and will be nationally televised on Golf Network.
Channel 13's Nick Walters visited a local golf course where Halstead practices to meet with her, her father, and her coach.
"I was so happy when I made it," Charlie said about her path through qualifiers to punch her ticket to Augusta, Georgia.
I qualified at Las Vegas and then we went to Arizona for the next qualifier and I won that too. We went to Hawaii and I also won that... I've always wanted to go to Augusta.
"It's crazy," said Charlie's dad, Casey, about the experience. "They sent us an actual invitation like the pros get when they qualify for Augusta. That's when it really hit home for us because we grind on the course… We practice between 4 and 5 hours a day. She's very committed to the sport."
"She's always been passionate about it ever since I started watching her at the age of 6," said Charlie's coach, Eric Meeks.
She loves the game. I don't think it's coming from her parents. It's coming from within.
Star college golfers Yana Wilson and Ali Mulhall represented Las Vegas in the Drive, Chip, & Putt Finals as high schoolers and won the event.
While looking up to current high schoolers Brynn Kort and Emmerson Hinds, Charlie is following those who came before her in the southern Nevada junior golf game.
“I tried to qualify (for Augusta) when I was 7, but I lost," Charlie said. "A lot of practice, hard work, and winning many tournaments boosted my confidence, so I had a lot more confidence this year in making it to Augusta.”
“For us to represent Las Vegas at Drive, Chip, and Putt is a huge honor," Casey said. "To bring it home to Vegas and kind of carry on that legacy, that’s really important to us.”
“She takes lessons twice a week for an hour, so that says something, but also, after her lesson, she hangs out at the golf course most of the day," Meeks said about Halstead's work ethic at a young age. "When I’m out here teaching, she’s still out here practicing.”
Charlotte's love for golf began at the age of 5 or 6. The pandemic closed local soccer fields so her mom signed her up for another outdoor sport.
I didn’t really like (golf) at first," Charlie said. I couldn’t hit the ball either. I actually really sucked. But I began to fall in love with the game. I told myself, 'I want to get better and become a world champion, so I pushed myself to get better.'
“It’s been the best experience of my entire life," Casey said about his daughter's three-year journey. "Just the process of seeing her struggle, overcome and stick with it to make it to this level, it's very unique... Her pursuit of perfection is actually contagious for the whole family. We’re learning a lot from her and her love of the game.”
"She’s outworked everybody," Meeks said. "She has goals of not only doing well in junior golf but going to college golf and professional golf, so it’s a big plus that being so young, she has a vision, and she follows that daily.”
While she's only a 4th grader and she's only getting started in her bright golf career, Charlie already has her sights set on passing it forward.
“It feels really good because I really want my sister to start playing, so I want to be a good role model for my sister," Charlotte said.
The Halsteads will be preparing until April, when they head to Augusta for the Finals. Channel 13 will keep you posted on how she performs on April 6.
