EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — This week’s Cardi’s Furniture & Mattresses Hometown Sports Hero is Hazel Hegstrom.

The Wheeler School 4th grader is headed to Augusta National this week to compete in the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals. Hegstrom earned her spot by taking home the 7-to-9-year-old regional crown in a sport she picked up three years ago.

“Well, for my 6th birthday, I got my first golf set, and then I started lessons and then I started my first tournament,” Hegstrom said. “And then started doing more.”

So, how did that first tournament go?

“I got last place, and I shot like a 56,” Hegstrom recalled. “I played so bad.”

But she continued to work and build her game, with her favorite club helping her shave off the strokes.

“I like my putter, and my putter it’s named Cotton Tail and it’s blue and white.”

When she’s not on the course, Hazel spends her weekends watching the PGA and LPGA professionals on TV. World number two Nellie Korda is her favorite player and she’s hoping to someday follow her path to the Tour. That’s why Hegstrom is aiming high this weekend.

“Well, I want to just get top five and I’m really excited to play on the course, and one of my golf coaches told me that the greens are really fast there,” Hegstrom said. “I really want to get a lot of autographs from the people playing in the Master’s Tournament.”

If you have a Hometown Sports Hero you’d like to nominate, email sports@wpri.com.