Brooke Patterson
Day Three – Women’s State Amateur
If you have a weak heart, don’t read this.
It took 75 shots in round three for Brooke Patterson to seal the deal at the 2020 Idaho Women’s State Am, but not all those shots carried the same palpability of the others.
There was that drive on one after being introduced as the leader, and the short iron on 11 to a few feet after bogey at 10, and the windy tee shot on 17 that forced her further to the right than she wanted to go, and the flip wedge on 18 that needed to be landed on a square the size of a blanket to win the tournament (catch the drift here?).
Yet, after all the nerve-wracking shots, Brooke kept her composure. It didn’t matter than it poured rain for 15 minutes on the 16th giving way to gusting winds, or that her playing partners were unrelenting throughout the day. She just stayed to the course, and found a way.
Brooke began the day with a two shot lead, and saw that lead get reduced to one quickly after two bogies and a birdie on the outward nine. But a timely birdie at 11 helped right the ship, and things were a little more steady the rest of the way in.
It didn’t come without charges from down the leaderboard though. Taylor Koch was red-hot after a front nine 32 to charge up to +5, eventually giving two shots back to finish with the only under par round of the day, a 70 (-2), to end her charge at +7 for the tournament.
The biggest charge though, came from Payton Fehringer. A front nine 35 put her squarely in contention, and after two birdies in the first 4 holes on the back, she was putting the pressure on Brooke. A few unforced errors on the last five holes ended the run though, finishing with an even par 72, ending the tournament at +4.
It just didn’t matter what came her way, Brooke held strong. The hug from her dad (and first time caddie) made all of the roller coaster twists and turns worth it.
And when she got off the ride that was the 2020 Idaho Women’s State Am at Elkhorn Golf Club, she had a trophy waiting for her.
To view the full leaderboard click HERE.