Watch: Special Olympics Athlete Pulls Off Incredible Feat in Front of PGA Tour Crowd
PGA Tour pros Gary Woodland and Matt Kuchar joined an incredible young woman Wednesday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open — and what she did on the par-3 16th hole had fans on their feet and cheering.
Amy Bockerstette is a golfer in the Special Olympics. She became the first person with Down syndrome to sign a college athletic scholarship when she signed with Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix last year, according to The Arizona Republic. She also was the first Arizona student with Down syndrome to compete in the state high school playoffs.
Woodland and Kuchar surprised her at TPC Scottsdale.
“I hear you’re a good golfer,” Woodland said after introducing himself and giving Bockerstette a hug. “You want to come to the hole with us?”
“Yes,” she said.
As she stepped up to the tee, Bockerstette said, “Yeah, I got this.” She proceeded to stripe one down the middle of the fairway, which elicited high fives from her playing partners.
“So cool,” she said of the applause she received when she walked up the fairway. “They love me. Awesome.”
“You like all these people?” Woodland asked.
“Yes,” she said with a smile.
On her approach shot, she hit it into a greenside bunker. No problem, Bockerstette said.
“I got this. You can do this, you can do this, you can do this,” she said to herself as she approached the ball.
She splashed it out within 10 feet of the cup, a shot that’s hard for anyone to do, including her playing partners.
“Nice! That is awesome,” said Woodland, high-fiving her. “Let’s go putt. We’re going to make this. That is so good.”
And you know what happened.
Bam. Bottom of the cup for an up and down out of the bunker that any PGA Tour pro would be proud of.
Got to be part of a pretty cool moment yesterday. Amy Bockerstette was nails on 16. #WMPO pic.twitter.com/PxUQEzWGvy
— Greg Moore (@WritingMoore) January 30, 2019
The crowd in the greenside bleachers let out a huge cheer.
“You are so awesome,” Woodland said as he gave her a hug. Bockerstette waved to the crowd and blew them kisses.
“You’re an inspiration to us,” Woodland told her. “You’re our hero.”
I don’t how anything that happens in the Waste Management Open this weekend will top that.
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