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SCOTTSDALE – Amy Bockerstette is a golfer.
That’s why she’s famous.
“This is so awesome,” the 21-year-old Bockerstette said Wednesday on No. 16 at TPC Scottsdale, where she was reunited with PGA Tour pro Gary Woodland.
It was the one-year anniversary of Bockerstette becoming a viral sensation after making a par putt on the infamous hole during the Waste Management Phoenix Open pro-am.
Woodland had surprised Bockerstette by inviting her to play to raise awareness for the Special Olympics. Her parents were in on it and had her clubs and shoes hidden nearby.
Bockerstette was an ideal choice. She became the first person with Down syndrome to earn a college scholarship for sports when she signed with Paradise Valley CC in 2018. Before that, she had been the first golfer with Down syndrome to compete in the Arizona high school playoffs.
Her caddie/father, Joe Bockerstette, was surprised when Amy put her tee shot in the bunker.
Woodland went to take it out, but Amy Bockerstette wasn’t having it.
“She said, ‘No, I’ve got this,’” Woodland said.
She chipped out of the sand and she stroked a par putt.
The Arizona Republic, Golfweek and the USA TODAY Network picked up on the story. The PGA Tour and the Special Olympics put their PR muscle into promoting the video. TV networks lined up to produce features.
Tens of millions of people ended up seeing the sequence online, sharing, liking and commenting the entire way.
“I Got This” has become a rallying cry and the name of Amy Bockerstette’s foundation, focused on using golf to create more opportunities for people with disabilities. The Thunderbirds, the special events committee that runs the People’s Open, presented Bockerstette with a check for $25,000 Wednesday to help with that mission.
“Everywhere I go, I hear ‘I got this,’” Woodland said. “I have adults coming up to me, crying … the impact that it’s had on other people has been tremendous. To be part of that has been amazing.”
None of it would have happened if Bockerstette had put up a triple-bogey.
‘Every day, somebody comes up to Amy’
Amy Bockerstette is a golfer.
That’s why she’s famous.
And her story shows that people with disabilities can accomplish as much as people who don’t, provided they’re given the right support.
Woodland, who won the Phoenix Open in 2018, was right there when Bockerstette nailed that putt last year.
It ended up giving him an advantage for the rest of the tournament.
“My putting coach sent me a picture of her stroke at impact, and he said, ‘This is where you need to be,’” Woodland said this week. “The next morning, Phil Kenyon didn’t waste any time and sent the picture to me and said, ‘This is what you need to do, this is what you need to pay attention to.’”
Woodland finished in the top 10 and was 1-under on No. 16 for the tournament.
Bockerstette is more famous now than ever.
“Virtually every day, somebody comes up to Amy and tells her that they saw the video and that they were inspired,” Joe Bockerstette said. “It’s just been a fabulous experience.”
Strangers approach her for selfies. She gets random high-fives. And she’s traveled the country, telling people her story at banquets, celebrations and award shows.
That’s something else that few people would have expected.
People with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities often have a tough time communicating verbally. They’ll slur, mumble or say one word and mean another.
Bockerstette has put in countless hours over the last year to memorize her lines and deliver them cleanly. Her mother, Jenny Bockerstette, is her coach.
“She works so hard,” Jenny Bockerstette said. “She had to give a keynote address at the National Down Syndrome Congress’ annual convention, and she probably worked three or four months on practicing that speech. It was a 20-minute speech. … She’s grown a lot in the last year.”
‘You cannot put limits on people’
Amy Bockerstette is a golfer.
That’s why she’s famous.
She became a viral sensation when she made a par putt on one of the PGA Tour’s toughest holes in front of cameras, spectators and her favorite tour pro.
The accomplishment showed that people with disabilities need chances to show what they’re capable of doing. And it gave Woodland an edge when he recognized that Bockerstette’s stroke was ideal for that green.
And she’s learned to tell her story, showing that she can’t be limited by preconceptions and that athletes can transcend sports to make a difference in the lives of others.
There’s no telling what’s next — and that’s exactly the point.
“Amy is proof positive that you cannot put limits on people with disabilities and what they might do,” Joe Bockerstette said.
Amy Bockerstette is a golfer.
That’s why she’s famous.
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