TuHS Golfer Selected to Represent Oregon and US in Australia, Summer 2018

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Bryce Hatcher and PGA Pro Chris Woods at the 2017 PGA Oakley Pro Jr., Astoria Country Club.
Bryce Hatcher and PGA Pro Chris Woods at the 2017 PGA Oakley Pro Jr., Astoria Country Club.
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Down Under Sports, an international sports organization based in Utah, has invited Tualatin High School student athlete, Bryce Hatcher to represent Oregon on the 2018 Golf Team at the 15th Annual Down Under Cup in Queensland, Australia this July. Student athletes from around the United States are selected based on their athletic performance, as well as their academic standing and community involvement. Bryce was one of a handful of golfers to be invited from Oregon and will have the opportunity to compete down under for individual honors and a team championship title in a three-day tournament. In between practice rounds and tournament play, he will also get the chance to explore some of Australia’s Gold Coast with the rest of the team.

A sophomore at Tualatin High School, Bryce is a member of the TuHS Golf Team. He has been playing competitive golf since he was eleven starting with the inaugural year of the PGA Jr. League and the Drive, Chip and Putt competition, and progressing to the Oregon Jr. Golf Association and the US Kids Local Tour where he won the 2015 Portland Summer Tour Championship which earned him an invitation to play in the Teen World Championship in Pinehurst, North Carolina the following summer. Most recently, he won the 2017 Boys Jr. Championship at Tualatin Country Club.

“This is a huge honor,” Bryce says, “and I am excited for the opportunity to represent my state and my country.” Bryce’s parents agree and are happy to see his hard work and the countless hours of practice year-round pay off. Bryce has been working with his swing coach, PGA Pro Chris Woods of GolfTec for more than four years.

The chance to go to Australia does come with a hefty cost for a sixteen-year-old, but Bryce, who is determined to pay his own way, has been fundraising since receiving the invitation in December. He is about half way to his goal with a deadline of May 15 to fully fund the trip. Local businesses have been supporting his bottles and cans drive and individual donors have been contributing online to his Down Under Sports Account. Izumi Japanese Steakhouse will also be holding a “Dine-Out” fundraiser for Bryce in April. If you would like to help Bryce reach his goal, please check out his Down Under page at downundersports.com/payment/3D91-F8F9-32D2 or contact his parents at 503-803-6428.

Down Under Sports was founded in 1989 by New Zealander and youth sports enthusiast, George O’Scanlon. The organization’s programs have grown to include a wide range of sports using the common language of sports to bridge continents and provide a forum for athletes from around the globe to compete head-to-head in the sport they love. For more information about Down Under Sports: www.downundersports.com.

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