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Long Island 15-Year-Old Shines During Pre-Masters Tournament At Augusta National

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Golf fans dream about teeing it up on the hallowed grounds of Augusta National Golf Club, home of The Masters.

A young lady from Long Island lived that dream this past weekend, CBS2's Otis Livingston reported Thursday.

She's only 15, but Jennifer Rosenberg of Laurel Hollow, New York, is the two-time defending women's champion at Glen Oaks Country Club in Old Westbury. She was one of 88 finalists in four age groups at the drive, chip and putt competition at Augusta.

Usually a big hitter off the tee, the competition didn't start out so well. She hit her first two drives out of bounds.

"At first it was like 'Oh my God,' like I came here, my drives are my best part of my swing," Rosenberg said.

But that's golf. Bad shots will happen. It's the champions who are able to move on to the next shot.

"Golf is all about being confident. You gotta be confident about your next shot. If you have bad thoughts you just step away and wait until you have good thoughts and then step up to the ball," Rosenberg said.

And, boy, did she ever, winning the chipping and putting competitions and tying for first place, making it all the way to a one-hole playoff, where she, unfortunately, came up short.

"Coming from last place to tie for first, I didn't think I actually did it, but it definitely made me feel better," Rosenberg said.

And what an adventure it was for the Rosenberg family to watch Jennifer perform on the big stage.

"We felt like we were in, you know, a magical land, on this great trip or this great dream and we really, really enjoyed it," Robin Rosenberg said.

"It was amazing, being on the best course in the world. Every piece of grass was perfect. Seeing all the famous golfers there, it was just amazing," Jennifer Rosenberg said.

And even more amazing was getting a chance to speak to one of those famous golfers -- defending Masters champion Bubba Watson.

"I was like 'oh my God,' is this actually happening? I didn't think I was actually speaking to him like one-on-one," Jennifer Rosenberg said.

As far as her future aspirations she said wants to play in college and become a club professional so she can teach others how to play the game she loves, Livingston reported.

It's a family affair for the Rosenbergs. Jennifer's father, Barry, took her and brother, Jack, who's also a club champion, golfing almost every weekend growing up. And her grandfather, Morty Howard, won seven club championships from the 1970s to the 1990s, Livingston reported.

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