- March 29, 2025
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Joey Wolf became a Scottie Scheffler fan watching him win the Masters Tournament twice over the past three years.
When Masters week arrives starting April 6, the 9-year-old golfer be competing at the same course as her golf hero.
Wolf, a member of Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club, has advanced to the national round of the Drive, Chip and Putt competition in the 7-to-9 year-old age division at Augusta National Golf Club.
The road to get there wasn’t easy.
Wolf’s parents, Lissy Skolnick and Scott Wolf, didn’t consider putting their three children — Joey, Zander and TT — into golf until COVID-19 happened.
At the time, gymnastics, soccer and tennis were their main sports. However, with most sports shut down indefinitely, golf became one of the few options for them to stay active.
Scott found a free golf class at Laurel Oak Country Club through U.S. Kids Golf, and the sport stuck.
“I think it’s an open sport, and I like competing against my brother because he’s the most competitive,” Joey said of her twin brother Zander.
Through U.S. Kids Golf, the family found the Drive, Chip and Putt Competition — a free development program — and have been competing in it for the past three years.
The Drive, Chip and Putt competition includes three drives, three chips and three putts with a maximum of 25 points awarded for each shot in the qualifying rounds.
Wolf had little trouble winning her local qualifier at Bonita Bay Club East — beating out the field by 22 points.
Though she didn’t win her sub-regional competition at Olde Florida Golf Club, her second-place finish was good enough for her to be one of two finalists to advance to the Southeast regional qualifier at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia.
Facing her stiffest competition in the regional round, Wolf scored a 99 — her highest score of the three rounds — which brought her to a tie with Greta Golden.
Wolf, who said her best skill is putting, was then faced with a 15-foot one-putt tiebreaker to advance to the finals.
“I was the most nervous I’ve ever been,” said Wolf, whose putt settled closer to the hole than Golden’s. “I was just focusing and praying that I would win it. When I did win it, all of my friends came over and hugged me. It was so fun.”
Dubbed ‘Tiny but mighty’ by her friends on the Florida youth golf circuit, the 4-foot-1, 56-pound Wolf knows she can’t win with long drives.
That’s forced her to focus on what she can control.
“My short game is usually what I can do the best,” Wolf said. “In driving, I’m probably going to hit the shortest out of everybody, so I have to be saved by my short game.”
Another advantage Wolf has is the mental edge she’s honed by competing with Zander on a near-daily basis.
Skolnick said that Joey isn’t naturally competitive, but that side of her is brought out by Zander. Anything is a challenge between them, from reading books to hitting balls closer to the pin on the golf course.
“If he loses, he starts melting down,” Wolf said of her brother. “When I win tournaments, he’s sad because he wanted to win it.”
After being nervous during qualifying events the past two years, seeing one of her friends advance to the finals changed Wolf’s perspective about competing in Drive, Chip and Putt this past year.
“They cheered for their friends on television and they loved it,” Skolnick said. “They were like, ‘I’m going to work hard and try to get there because I want to do that.’ Then they weren’t as nervous because they were just trying their hardest.”
Wolf and her family will make an expenses-paid trip to Augusta, Georgia. The weekend begins with a dinner for the Drive, Chip and Putt families on April 5.
Wolf will then compete against nine other girls in the 7-to-9 age bracket in the national finals on the morning of April 6, and have the chance to watch her favorite player during a practice round on April 7.
Though she said she’s looking forward to the national finals, the competition itself isn’t what she’s most excited about.
“I want to see Scottie Scheffler,” she said.
