PEBBLE BEACH, Calif.—When Gary Woodland needed inspiration during his final 18 holes of the 2019 U.S. Open, he relied on the words of Amy Bockerstette.
“You’ve got this,” the 20-year-old collegiate golfer tweeted to Woodland on Sunday morning, before Woodland played the most important round of his career.
The affirmation worked for Woodland. He entered the final round 11-under and finished at 13-under-par 271 to win his first major, beating back-to-back U.S. Open winner Brooks Koepka by three shots.
Four months earlier, Woodland had met Bockerstette during a practice round at the Waste Management Phoenix Open through his interest in the Special Olympics. Bockerstette has Down syndrome, but it hasn’t stopped her from living her best life or playing golf for Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix.
Woodland, the defending winner of the tournament, paired with Bockerstette on the par-3 16th, with its huge crowd and stadium atmosphere. Despite hitting her tee shot in the bunker, she insisted on hitting it out. Then she sank the putt for par. All along, Bockerstette kept telling herself, “I’ve got this.”
“I said that a lot today, too,” Woodland said after the win. “She's meant everything for me from a mental standpoint. The world needs more of her in it. Her attitude, her love for life, love for the game and her positive energy is so contagious.”