River View golfer shines at Augusta

River View golfer Colton Gress got to compete where professionals do and walked away with a second-place trophy.

Gress, who is 15, earned his trophy April 5 in the boys 14-15 group of the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club. The contest was part of the 2026 Masters Tournament held annually in Augusta, Georgia for professional men golfers.

“You had to go through three levels of qualifiers to get there,” Gress said. “You had to be one of the top three, then in the top two and then win to make it. The atmosphere at nationals was awesome. There were a ton of people and lots of energy.”

His dad and coach Chad Gress said it is quite an honor to make it to the national finals.

“Less than 1% have a chance to make it,” Chad Gress said. “More than 40,000 kids tried to get there. It’s very difficult. When you are there, you only get six shots, so you can’t mess up at all.”

The top three in each age group get trophies, so Colton Gress’ goal was to land in one of those spots.

“It felt pretty good to get second, but I kind of wanted to get first,” he said.

Colton Gress was able to interact with different golfers at the event and received his trophy from Masters Champion Bubba Watson. He also was excited to have a video of himself reach 1 million views online. The video featured his cross-handed grip, which made him stand out from others. People who saw it even sought out his autograph.

“I really want to make it back there,” Colton Gress said. “One of my putts is haunting me.”

Chad Gress is very proud of his son.

“There was a lot of pressure there, and he handled it well,” Chad Gress said. “He played really good, and all his shots gave him a chance to win.”