Santa Barbara’s Pate Qualifies for Amateur

Santa Barbara’s John Pate used a birdie on the first playoff hole of sectional qualifying at Bakersfield Country Club to grab the third and final berth in the 101st U.S. Amateur Championship.

Pate, the brother of the PGA Tour’s Steve Pate, joined Bakersfield residents Mike Plate and Steven Christophel as the qualifiers from the 68-player field. Pate, Plate (66-73) and Christophel (71-68) earned spots in the tournament on Aug. 20-26 at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club with 36-hole scores of five-under-par 139.

John Pate won the 1999 Southern California Golf Assn. Amateur and the 2000 SCGA Mid-Amateur.