Kayla Starr was nervous when she stepped up to the tee box at the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship July 21 in Madison.

Starr topped her first ball off the tee and it rolled approximately 100 feet. After a deep breath, she took an easy swing and struck the ball true, flying approximately 250 yards. Starr placed first in the 14- to 15-year-old girls bracket with a third-place finish in driving, a second-place finish in putting and a first place finish in chipping.

“What really got me in was chipping,” Starr said. “I didn’t think I was going to hit that well, because I never really got a warm up. I was shocked I hit it 250 yards.”

Her top finish qualifies her for the next step of the competition on Aug. 9 at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La.

“I was really nervous at first, but when I found out (I was going to the next round) I was really happy,” Starr said. “(My Dad and I) are trying to go to the range every day. When it rains I just hit into this net in my garage.”

The Cathedral High School 14 year old has only been swinging a golf club regularly since February. Her father, Jody Starr, said he began to teach her the basics of how to grip and swing just six months ago, and since then Kayla has seized opportunities to play competitively on the Green Wave golf team.

“She goes out to the range with me and plays around; she’s just a good athlete with a natural swing,” Jody said. “She has so much natural ability.”

The two spend plenty of time together on the golf course, and sometimes a daughter-father relationship becomes a golfer-caddie relationship.

“It’s amazing (when he caddies for me) because he’s my dad,” Kayla said.

Jody said he and his daughter not only value the quality time they spend together during junior golf tournaments, but also the opportunity for Kayla to grow as a golfer.

“I get to teach her, and we enjoy the ability for me to be on the course with her,” Jody said. “She’s very teachable because she hasn’t developed a lot of bad habits, since she’s just started playing.”

At the TPC Louisiana competition, Kayla could qualify to play in a contest at TPC Sawgrass and possibly at Augusta National.

“I’m really excited about (the possibility of playing at Augusta National),”she said. “I hope I make it that far.”