Xavier Prep golfer Annie Dawson leads charge to raise money for Amy Bockerstette's 'I Got This Foundation'

Helping Phoenix Xavier Prep regain state championship status is a big goal for senior golfer Annie Dawson.

But a priority is helping her friend Amy Bockerstette build her "I Got This Foundation," which promotes golf instruction and playing opportunities for those with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities.

Dawson, who finished third in the Division I state championship last season, said she started a fundraiser in which she and defending state champion Peoria Liberty are participating. She said Cave Creek Cactus Shadows, which has another top girls high school golf program, has made a donation.

"It's mainly based on the birdies that the team gets," Dawson said. "It is kind of like a jogathon. Instead of how many laps you run, it's for how many birdies you get. People make pledges.

"I've been having everyone on the team work at getting pledges. Just recently we've started flat donations. It's every match, invitational and the state tournament."

As of early this week, Dawson said about $5,000 has been raised. That money goes to Bockerstette's "I Got This Foundation."

Dawson said she has been friends most of her life with Bockerstette, who made history in 2016 when the 4-foot-9 golfer became the first girl with Down syndrome to qualify for the Arizona Interscholastic Association state tournament while at Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor.

Things took off from there.

In 2017, Bockerstette competed in the 2017 Bank of Hope Founders Cup Pro-Am at the Wildfire Golf Club at JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa as part of the LPGA Bank of Hope Founders Cup's partnership with Special Olympics Arizona.

She signed a golf letter of intent with Paradise Valley Community College after high school, then made more history in May 2021 when she became the first athlete with Down syndrome to compete in a national college championship.

It was when Bockerstette told Gary Woodland at the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open, "I got this," before draining a long par putt on the 16th hole that she became famous for that catchphrase with the video going viral.

It's opened more doors for Bockerstette and inspired so many people with Down syndrome to live their dreams. In July, Bockerstette finished 10th in the first-ever U.S. Adaptive Open.

With the family busy due to Amy's schedule, the family hired Tracy Hupko to be the executive director of "I Got This Foundation." Hupko was with the LPGA, which invited Amy to play in the Founders Cup Pro-Am.

"The founders of the LPGA had a history of changing the face of the game of golf and we felt that Amy's story was one that needed to be heard," Hupko said in an email to The Arizona Republic. " A few short years later Amy's performance during the practice round at the 2019 WMPO drew an entirely new audience to golf. Millions of people that teared up the moment they heard, 'I got this,' and who cheered the moment the putt dropped.

"Her spirit and loving approach to life is a lesson for everyone both on and off the course for golfers and non-golfers. Golf is something Amy does, hope and encouragement is what she inspires."

Dawson has always been drawn to Amy and her story.

"I've known Amy for years, and I played competitive golf with her," Dawson said. "I've just always known her. She had her claim to fame at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, that's when her foundation really took off. She invited me to play in her tournament for the foundation.

"We played with some Down syndrome athletes. I just had so much fun. I take golf seriously. These athletes do, too, but they bring such joy. It's just completely a game for them. It's just amazing. Last year, I wanted to figure a way to give more to them."

Xavier Athletic Director Sister Lynn Winsor, who also coached the golf team for years, isn't surprised that Dawson, a Creighton University commit, would concoct a charity plan to help with Bockerstette's foundation.

"Her generous spirit, her accomplished golf skills, her sportsmanship, her 4.0 GPA and her leadership qualities make her one of Xavier's most admired student-athletes," Winsor said. "Her raising of funds to help others typifies Annie's generous spirit."

Amy recently shot a video to celebrate disability empowerment month, Jenny Bockerstette, Amy's mom, said.

Jenny was surprised and humbled when Dawson approached them with the fund raiser.

"I didn't know this from Annie but I saw online that Brooke McGlasson (a senior at Liberty) is one of her captains at one of the other high schools for the birdies project," Jenny said. "Amy knows Brooke from girls golf, as well.

"It's a great group of girls all connected from different schools."

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter @azc_obert.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Xavier Prep golfer Annie Dawson leads charge for Amy's foundation