Golf: Southampton’s Jim Patterson birdies two of final three holes, advances to U.S. Senior Am Championship

It was quite the day for Southampton native Jim Patterson during Monday’s U.S. Senior Amateur qualifier, as he shot an even-par round of 72 at The Ranch in Southwick to propel him into the top three — giving him an automatic spot in the U.S. Senior Am Championship. That event will take place at Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio, Texas from Aug. 23-28.

Patterson birdied his first hole of the day and added another birdie on the par-3 fifth. Two bogeys on the front nine set him back to even par as he made the turn to the back. Patterson then dropped another shot on the 10th and 13th holes to put him at 2-over par.

With several players hovering around even par or 1-over, Patterson knew he had to make a move to get within the top three — the only spots guaranteed to move on to late August’s championship.

A pair of pars on holes No. 14 and 15 set Patterson up on the par-5 16th. He made a birdie to get back to 1-under, and rolled in another birdie putt on the 17th to get to even par. He finished with a four on the par-4 18th to give him a score of 36 on each side. His 72 was just enough to squeak into the top three and propel him through to the U.S. Senior Am Championship.

Elsewhere, South Deerfield’s Keith Burch shot a 3-over 75 in what was a strong round of golf on Monday. He made two birdies on his front nine but also had three bogeys, and if it weren’t for his double bogey on the par-5 13th, he would have been right in the mix as he made par on every other hole on the back nine.

To round out Hampshire County competitors, Ronald Laverdiere of Amherst shot a 5-over 77 with one birdie (par-4 2nd) and six bogeys.