Eagle teen overcomes nerves, downpour to win Idaho State Amateur title on first try
Brooke Patterson had a one-shot lead when she stepped onto the tee box on the 18th hole at Elkhorn Golf Club in Sun Valley.
With a crowd of several dozen gathering to watch, Patterson’s hands began to shake. If she could par the 480-yard 18th, Patterson would be the wire-to-wire winner of the 2020 IGA Women’s Amateur.
“It was a crazy feeling. ... You never really understand what it feels like until it actually happens to you,” Patterson told the Idaho Statesman by phone Thursday.
In the most pressure-packed moment of her young career, the 16-year-old Eagle resident played like a seasoned veteran, finishing at 3-over 219 for a one-stroke victory over Pocatello’s Payton Fehringer. Patterson is one of the youngest winners in tournament history, according to the Idaho Golf Association, and she carded the lowest single-day score of the three-day tournament with a 3-under 69 in the opening round.
On the her final hole of the tournament, the par-5 18th, Patterson planted her tee shot in the fairway between two bunkers, and followed with an 8-iron to a wedge distance. Then a deluge came from the sky.
“My dad and I, we just stopped in the middle of the fairway and just let this rain stop so that I could actually calm down and get this wedge shot really close,” said Patterson, whose father, Craig, was serving as a first-time caddie.
“Eventually it let up a little bit. It was still kind of sprinkling. I hit a wedge shot — probably the best wedge shot I’ve hit my entire career of golf — to about 10 feet and two-putted for par to get that win. It was probably the craziest last hole I’ve ever played.”
Patterson will be a junior at Eagle High this fall. She began playing golf at the age of 12 and has steadily honed her craft. She was the 5A state runner-up and a member of the Mustangs’ state championship team in 2019 as a freshman. The 2020 spring high school golf season was cut short by the coronavirus, so Patterson has been doing her best to make up for lost time this summer.
Since mid-June, Patterson said 20 Division I schools have contacted her. And after her state amateur win last weekend, there are likely many more offers on the way.
“It didn’t really kind of sink in until two days later. It felt so surreal,” Patterson said. “It was such a great accomplishment for me, and it wasn’t just a win for me. It was a win for my family. They’ve been with me this entire time. They’ve always been Team Brooke. ... I felt like this win was really for them, too. It was such an amazing moment to share with everybody.”
BSU golfer wins men’s title
Hugo Townsend was one shot back of Skyler Eubank and Colt Sherrell going into the final round of the 2020 Idaho State Amateur at Elkhorn.
But Townsend, who is a member of the Boise State golf team, outlasted them both, carding a 4-under 68 in the final round for a two-stroke tournament victory. He finished at 10-under 206 over 54 holes.
Townsend took the tournament lead with a birdie on No. 16. His advantage then grew to two shots when Sherrell bogeyed 17, and Townsend sealed the victory with a birdie on the final hole.
Townsend is the son of two-time Ryder Cup member Peter Townsend. He is a native of Dublin, Ireland, and calls Boden, Sweden, home.
“It just feels really good to play in a tournament. I’ve been working really hard in the gym and playing a lot with my teammates since I can’t go home (to Sweden) this summer,” Townsend said in an IGA press release. “It just feels really good to have all the hard work pay off.”
