Owen Atkinson

Forest Lake Club- Forest Acres, South Carolina

Right

4/5

66 at Forest Lake Club. Summer 2023. Non-tournament round.

0.4

My grandad (Pop) started taking me to the golf course when I was about 4.

My grandad (Pop).

My teammates from school, my grandad, my dad and my brother.

Paul Woodbury- Florence Country Club.

I like that I can play all year. I love playing new courses at different tournaments. I love competing.

Irons. 120-200 yards.

Putting under pressure!

8 iron.

Augusta National Golf Club. Cypress Point looks really awesome too.

Qualifying for the 2024 Drive, Chip and Putt followed by winning the Boys 13-14 Division of the Grant Bennent Invitaional at Florence Country Club. Shooting a 68 in the second round of the Forest Lake Club Championship in August, 2023 was cool and memorable. I came close to winning it which is pretty hard to do at our club.

Yes. USGA Junior Amateur Qualifier at Daniel Island in 2023. Shot 79 so didn't do all that great. Had a lot of fun because my high school coach caddied for me.

Always keep grinding and don't give up even at low points. Just have fun.

I did for several years at my home course- Forest Lake Club. It was a lot of fun.

I get to compete on the best course in the world and will meet a lot of great people. We had a bunch of fun at the Regional in Tennessee. My dad and granddad went with me. We stayed in Nashville the night before and watched football. We had planned to drive back to Columbia after but decided to stay in Knoxville to celebrate. A very fun weekend.

My most memorable moment was making the first two putts at the Regional Qualifier in Tennessee. I didn't do very good on the chipping so I needed to make those putts to have a chance. I hit my third putt pretty good but not super close. Waiting after it was my turn was not easy. Everyone was very nice to me after the round and I really enjoyed being interviewed.

Yes. I did not compete last year becasue of tournament conflicts but competed for several years before that. I think I made it past the first round each time except maybe the first time I competed but never further than that.

I watched every minute of it! I knew a few of the players competing so that was cool. It made me want to get to the finals even more since I wasn't able to try and qualify in 2022.

Driving, Putting, Chipping

Yes. I have been very fortunate to go several times because my great grandfather (Leon Anthony "L.A." Marsha (Papa)) was a badge-holder. Papa actually took Camilo Villegas to his first ever Masters when Camilo was in high school. Papa was friends with a close friend of Camilo's family and invited Camilo because he was such a great golfer and had dreamed of getting to go. After going, Camilo told Papa that if he got to come back, he would be competing. I think that held true. I'm pumped Camilo gets to compete again. After Papa died in 2020, my great-grandmother (Nanna) got his badges and she let's me go. It gets better every year and will be especially awesome this year. I usually try to follow Jordan Spieth as much as possible but will also be watching Camilo for sure this year.

I love cool golf shirts and I change out headcovers pretty often. I always try to use a new glove at the start of every tournament so gloves are a favorite too.

At the Masters, when I was younger, an awesome memory I had was getting to the course and watching the players putt behind the first tee box just before their tee times. It was also a really cool memory to get to see Tiger Woods compete in person at Augusta National after his injuries. Phil Mickelson winning the PGA Championship at Kiawah in 2021 was really cool too.

Watching Jordan Spieth shoot 61 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in 2021.

Jordan Spieth. He has always been my favorite golfer. He is nice to everybody and I love his swing and composure. I want to be like him one day if I can make it on tour. I have gotten to be the standard-bearer for his group at The Heritage and that was super cool. I got a really cool picture with him after he won The Heritage in 2022 that I keep in my room.

Lexi Thompson. I think she's pretty and she works out a lot. I also like Rose Zhang.

Besides Jordan Spieth, I'd go with Max Homa for sure. I love watching his back and forth with Joel Dahmen on Instagram.

I haven't actually played a round with anyone famous but I've been a standard-bearer for a lot of great golfers over the last several years at The Heritage and also for Joshua Dobbs at the 2023 Monday After The Masters Tournament in Myrtle Beach. At The Heritage in 2017, when I was about 9 or 10, Ollie Schniederjans saw me watching him practice and invited me chip with him on the practice green. My dad has some cool videos of me chipping with him and also of me watching Papa talk to Camilo at that same tournament after he finished the first hole.

Jordan Spieth, Tiger Woods and Tom Brady

I always try to use a new golf glove before every tournament and use golf balls numbered 1 and 2.

I don't play a ton of video games but I do like to play PGA TOUR 2K23.

I would serve huge ribeye steaks with my grandmother's creamed corn and mac and cheese. For dessert I would go with strawberry shortcake and also my aunt's famous Dirt Dessert.

AP Human Geography

I love football- high school, college and NFL.

Uncle Buck

Zach Bryan

Outer Banks

Instagram

Laughing face with tears

Talents- I can throw a football pretty far. Interests- church basketball, watching football, hunting and learning to drive.

I'm very fortunate. I haven't had any major obstacles to overcome.

Jordan Spieth

Don't give up on your dreams and always keep grinding! Before tournaments my dad always tells me to "get dialed in and stay dialed in." He also tells me to just have fun.

Professional Golfer.

I'm pretty tall for my age. I love playing and watching sports as much as possible. I love to compete. I love hanging out with my friends. I am the oldest of four children. I have two great parents who support me in all I do. I am very close to both sets of grandparents, my great-grandmother and all my aunts and uncles. All of my family lives within a few miles of me so we see each other a lot. We have a really big family. I can't wait to compete in April and am so thankful for the opportunity!