BERLIN- Worcester Prep freshman Michael DePalma last month placed first in the boys’ 14-15 division of the Drive, Chip and Putt Oak Hill regionals and has qualified for the nationals in Augusta in April.
DePalma started golfing with his father and grandfather at the age of nine and quickly realized his passion for the sport. A year later, he started to play competitively, and by the time he reached the sixth grade, he had won a number of golf tournaments. DePalma started playing golf for Worcester Prep’s middle school team when he was in the seventh grade and is playing on the varsity team this year as a freshman. He also plays in the Under Armor Junior Tour’s Eastern Shore League, where he was won several tournaments in recent years.
He will also compete in the Hurricane Junior Tour with tournaments in New Jersey and North Carolina this fall. In 2019, DePalma was watching the Drive, Chip and Putt competition with his family, who encouraged him to sign up and compete.
“This was my first and only time trying for this tournament,” he said. “I had zero expectations with how I would do in the tournament. I just wanted to see how well I could do.”
At the Drive, Chip and Putt regional event, each golfer is given three attempted and DePalma scored the highest in his division with a 68 in drive, a 40 in chip and a 45 in putt, resulting in a total score of 153, which was good enough for first place in his division.
