Golfer makes history as first person with Down syndrome to compete in college championship

Amy Bockerstette has earned her nickname Amazing Amy. He is the first person with Down syndrome to compete in a national college athletics championship. Only with the start on Monday, Bockerstette is a winner.

“I like meeting new friends at tournaments, I have fun,” he said of why he likes the game.

“We joke to our family that Amy plays golf to meet new friends,” said her father, Joe.

Bockerstette’s father is always by his side as a caddy. “I love being with my dad. He’s an amazing guy,” Bockerstette said. “He’s my best father ever.”

Her father said it was also significant to him because “some of the funniest moments of my life have been on the golf course with her.”

One of those moments came in 2019 when he surprised professional golfer Gary Woodland and the world, making a pair in the notoriously difficult hole 16 at TPC Scottsdale. The video of the moment went viral and has been viewed more than 51 million times.

But Bockerstette’s story is more about putting limits on yourself than golf.

“You know, you go through an early mourning for what you gave up with your child with a disability,” his father said. “What I learned later is that it was pretty silly. The lesson is that you can’t put limits on the people there. It was ridiculous for me to think that Amy couldn’t achieve what she’s achieved.” .

With what he has achieved, Bockerstette’s advice for a hard shot can be life’s advice for all of us. “I get it. Yes, I have that,” she says to herself.