It’s an annual tradition on the Tuesday of Boeing Classic Tournament Week for kids participating in programs such as The First Tee of Greater Seattle, the Nutrition and Fitness for Life Program at Virginia Mason, Encompass and other community groups to have the extraordinary opportunity to learn some of the finer points of golf from a Champions Tour Pro. This year’s participants will have the privilege to join 1976 U.S. Open Winner Jerry Pate on Tuesday, August 23rd, at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge for an invaluable experience.
Pate, 57, is uniquely qualified to host the Boeing Classic Youth Clinic, having been introduced to the game at only six years old and achieving his greatest professional success, a major championship, at just 22. Those who have marveled at the accomplishments of 2011 US Open Champion Rory McIlroy at such an early age will hear a similar story from Pate, who is the fourth-youngest player ever to have won the Open title.
Pate was a rising young star with a distinguished amateur career before joining the PGA Tour in 1975. While attending the University of Alabama he won the U.S. Amateur in 1974 and was the low amateur at the 1975 U.S. Open. He was selected as the Rookie of the Year and Co-Player of the Year in 1976 and was a member of the victorious 1981 Ryder Cup team, but shoulder injuries curtailed his career on the PGA Tour. While working through his injuries, Pate served as a television analyst and set up a golf course design practice and a turf and irrigation company. He joined the Champions Tour in 2004 and in the same year was involved in the launch of The First Tee chapter in Montgomery, Alabama.
Pate’s experience with success at a young age will provide the youth clinic participants an insight on not just the mechanics that lead to improved performance, but the attitude and approach that are equally important.
