She took second for years. How an Eagle golfer broke that streak with 5A district title
Brooke Patterson called her round “boring” Tuesday.
But she’ll take it after coming out on the wrong end of plenty of exciting finishes.
The Eagle High senior cruised to a five-shot victory at the 5A District Three girls golf tournament, shooting an even-par 71 at BanBury Golf Course in Eagle.
The “boring” championship comes after Patterson spent most of her high school career coming up just short. She’s twice taken second at the district meet, and she’s finished second twice at state as well.
Those four runner-up finishes came by a combined four shots, and she missed out on last year’s district title in a sudden-death playoff.
“It’s been an absolute roller coaster,” Patterson said. “This year, I feel a little bit better about the way my game is progressing. … It’s been really nice to just finally start winning more.”
The University of Cincinnati signee long ago made her name on the junior golf circuit. She captured the state amateur title as a 16-year-old two years ago, one of the youngest champions in Idaho Golf Association history. But a major title at the high school level eluded her.
That streak ended Tuesday as Patterson carded 16 pars, leading her to call the round “boring” with a smirk. But no matter the level of drama, the championship medal left the course in her pocket after years of what-ifs and if-onlys.
“She’s had a couple little things happen here and there,” Eagle coach Mark Snodgrass said. “But she is a competitor, and I know she’s going to do great things in her future. She’s won a lot of different things. It’s really great to see her kind of reach her full potential.”
Patterson posted her 71 early in the day, forcing her to wait to see whether it would hold up. She grabbed lunch and mingled with her friends and family while keeping an eye on the scoreboard.
But no one seriously challenged her on a fast course the day after BanBury hosted a U.S. Open qualifier. Rocky Mountain’s Emry Gibbs finished five strokes back at 76, and Borah’s Maddie Montoya took third at 77.
Patterson heads into the 5A state tournament May 16-17 at RedHawk Golf Course in Nampa as one of the heavy favorites. And it gives her one last championship to chase in her final days at the high school level.
“It’s going to be a completely different setup,” Patterson. “Obviously, BanBury is a lot longer than RedHawk is going to be. But I love RedHawk, and I think that my game suits really well for that course.”
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REPEATS AS CHAMP
The Grizzlies rolled to their second straight team title, shooting 322 — 29 shots ahead of second-place Eagle.
Rocky Mountain’s entire team finished inside the top 10. Gibbs (76) took second, followed by Lauren Parish (80) in fourth place, Jane Barley (81) in a tie for fifth, Anna DaBell (85) in seventh and Josey Parish (87) in a tie for eighth.
The defending state champs even had the luxury of tossing Josey Parish’s score. Each team’s top four scores count toward their team tally.
Boise (372) finished third in the team standings, and Mountain View (382) finished fourth for the final automatic state tournament berths.
5A District 3 Girls Golf Tournament
Tuesday
At BanBury
Team scores (Top 4 to state)
1, Rocky Mountain 322.
2, Eagle 351.
3, Boise 372.
4, Mountain View 382.
5, Timberline 389.
6, Borah 449.
7, Meridian 473.
8, Capital 475.
9, Skyview 494.
10, Owyhee 506.
Kuna INC.
Centennial INC.
Top 11 individuals (all to state)
1, Brooke Patterson, Eagle, 71.
2, Emry Gibbs, Rocky Mountain, 76.
3, Maddie Montoya, Borah, 77.
4, Lauren Parish, Rocky Mountain, 80.
t-5, Jane Barley, Rocky Mountain, 81.
t-5, Ella Arnzen, Timberline, 81.
7, Anna DaBell, Rocky Mountain, 85.
t-8, Heleina Staley, Eagle, 87.
t-8, Josey Parrish, Rocky Mountain, 87.
10, Kelly Goulet, Boise, 89.
11, Natalie Stacey, Boise, 90.
This story was originally published May 10, 2022 at 7:52 PM.
