Golf: Estero native, Bishop Verot student Talia Rodino takes Drive, Chip and Putt
Estero native Talia Rodino finished at the top of the girls standings in the Drive, Chip and Putt sub-regional at Bonita Bay Club West on Saturday.
Rodino, a freshman at Bishop Verot in Fort Myers, scored a 117 to win the girls 14-15 division.
Rodino defeated 15 other girls in her age group and didn’t allow a 90-minute rain delay bother her. She said it felt good especially because this was her first time advancing to regionals. She tried to change up her strategy a bit from last year.
“I just wanted to get all my drives in the grid,” Rodino said. “I used to focus on hitting them as far as I could. Plus, my chipping is much better than last year which helped a lot.”
Finishing second in the age group was Doral’s Skylee Shin.
Estero's Kent, Fort Myers' Rodino lead local Drive, Chip, Putt
The top two in each age group advanced to the regional qualifier on Sept. 29 at TPC Sawgrass. The winners of the regional will compete at Augusta. Golfers had three drives, three chips and three putts, then their point totals were compiled based on the results.
In the boys 14-15 division, Tampa’s Sure Kollegal and Fabrice Laude took first and second, respectively.
In the girls 12-13 division, Miami’s Megan Bermejo placed first and Southwest Ranches’ Katherine Schaefer placed second.
In the boys 12-13 division, Tarpon Springs’ Juleon Habib placed first and Lakewood Ranch’s Nicolas Bencomo placed second.
In the girls 10-11 division, Sarasota’s Chloe Change placed first and St. Petersburg’s Sophia Dyer placed second.
In the boys 10-11 division, Palm Harbor’s Evan Westbroek placed first and Saint Petersburg’s Clark Mason placed second.
In the girls 7-9 division, Coral Cables’ Fernanda Carrion placed first and Redington Shores’ Brenna Nienke placed second.
In the boys 7-9 division, Lutz’s David Cochran placed first and Tampa’s Nathan Drummond placed second.
For full results, go to https://www.drivechipandputt.com/results and enter zip code 34134