Cameron Middleton, 9, fulfilled a dream recently by playing at the historic Augusta National Golf Course, the home of the Masters. He took part in the recent PGA Drive, Chip & Putt competition. PROVIDED

During the pandemic, Cameron Middleton, then 5 years old, passed the time at home by posting golf trick shots on Instagram.

This helped make him an Internet star with more than 13,000 followers. It also helped make him a really good golfer. And four years later, it helped him fulfill a dream by playing at the historic Augusta National Golf Course, the home of the Masters.

Middleton, who lives in North Fort Myers, was there to play in the recent PGA Drive, Chip & Putt competition, where the best young golfers, boys and girls, test their skills.

For Middleton, it was an experience he will never forget.

“The course was in incredible shape. There were so many azaleas there and we spent about $2,000 in the gift shop,” Middleton said. “We got shirts, hats, ball markers and a caddy gnome.”

Cameron Middleton, 9, fulfilled a dream recently by playing at the historic Augusta National Golf Course, the home of the Masters. He took part in the recent PGA Drive, Chip & Putt competition. PROVIDED

Middleton, who had competed in Drive, Chip & Putt two other times, had to compete in three qualifying rounds at the local and regional levels to make it to Augusta.

He qualified in the top three in the local qualifier at Shadow Wood in Fort Myers, the top two at old Florida in Naples, and finally won the regional at Sea Island, Georgia, sinking a 15-foot putt to earn the trip to Augusta.

More than 22,000 boys in his 7-to-9 age group competed, with only 10 able to qualify to play at Augusta. Cameron was thrilled when he learned he had qualified and tempered his expectations once in Augusta, knowing he would have stiff competition.

“I didn’t want to finish last because there were some real good kids there. They were amazing at chipping and putting,” said Middleton, who finished ninth out of 10. “I did well in putting and driving, but chipping was weak. It just wasn’t my day because usually I’m amazing at chipping.”

Gina, Cameron’s mom, said the golf club did an amazing job with the kids, paying for their airfare, hotels and giving them a look at the course only the pros get.

Cameron Middleton, 9, fulfilled a dream recently by playing at the historic Augusta National Golf Course, the home of the Masters. He took part in the recent PGA Drive, Chip & Putt competition. PROVIDED

“They put on a nice banquet for them, and gave us tickets to go to the Masters on Monday. He ate lunch in the Founders Room, got to go down Magnolia Lane which nobody does unless you’re a player,” Gina said. “They go over the top to make sure the kids have an experience.”

Middleton started golfing at age 3. Cameron’s mother Gina said he started hitting the ball around the house and determined his sport would be golf.

Middleton learned quickly and before long he was on the course five days a week and performing trick shots in his home such as chipping balls into a cup or an unusual putting trick that gained him fame on Instagram, which all started after being stuck at home during the pandemic.

“One of the benefits with COVID is that golf courses stayed open. You just weren’t allowed to go in the pro shop. You just paid online and walked the course,” Gina said. “When we were home we took the opportunity to do golf trick shots. He became so popular that we got messages from people around the world.”

Fans would suggest trick shots and video side-by-sides of trick shots they had tried. The result was media coverage from ESPN, friendships with many pro golfers (Ricky Fowler in particular) and uncanny ability on the course.

Even his coach, Chase Marinell, who works with him at Stoneybrook Golf Course in Estero, said Cameron’s abilities far exceed those of a typical 9-year-old.

“He’s the best talent I have seen in this area for someone his age. He’s developed a great pair of hands and a feel for how to get the ball to the target,” Marinell said. “Starting at such a young age really helped.”

The result is that Cameron is one of the best golfers his age in the country. Last season, he was All-American, which was the Top 8 in the 6-to-8 age group, finishing third at Sandestin in Miramar Beach. He then went to PGA National in West Palm Beach and finished second.

With the tournament season under way for him, he will try to qualify for the national tournaments, which are 36-hole events, which he walks with his caddy, his father.

As for the future, Cameron hopes to become a pros and perhaps win a green jacket.

Gina would like golf to at least get him a scholarship for college.