It was his first time ever competing at the Oklahoma Amateur Golf Championships, but former Lion Jamie Voegeli made it look like he was a seasoned veteran as he won the event on July 21-23 at the Patriot Golf Club in Owasso.
Voegeli played for the Lions from 2007-2011, including being part of a team that competed in an NCAA Regional in 2008 and 2009. His low round occurred in his junior season when he shot an opening-round seven-under par, 65 at the North Alabama Fall Classic.
Voegeli had stopped playing golf competitively, but recently started again after he and a friend of his, Tyler Hunt, teamed up to win the Tulsa Golf Association Four-Ball Championship in 2017. Both had entered the State Amateur Championship and ironically when the draw came out, the two could have faced each other in the finals, but it was just Jamie who made it there. Hunt, however, caddied for Voegeli in the final round providing support and advice to his friend.
After Voegeli had bogeyed the par-4 14th hole in the final day, he told Hunt how tired he was. Hunt reassured him that he just needed one good swing to get things back on track.
"After hitting a good drive on 15, we both were debating on what club to use on my second shot," Voegeli said. "He thought I may be a little hesitant to hit the three wood and suggested we go for the five iron and be safe. I told him that I really wanted to hit a three wood. I've had it since I was in seventh grade and it was my dad's and other than my putter, it's my favorite club in the bag. He said 'All right, commit to hit, hit it to the left side of the green and if it fades it'll be a perfect shot.' I hit it 260 (yards) in the air and had a 25-foot put for eagle. After that, I had a pretty good feeling I was going to close it out."
And close it out, he did. He made a birdie on 14 and another on 15 to put him three up with three holes to play. Voegeli sealed the match with a 10-foot birdie put on the 17th hole to take the final match 3 & 1. Overall, Voegeli won six matches over the three-day span. He played 104 holes with 26 birdies and four eagles, including a hole-in-one on a 194-yard shot with a six-iron. He defeated two top high school seniors to be and defeated four current collegiate players including three Division I student-athletes.
Voegeli earned a degree in industrial engineering technology from MSSU in 2011 and in 2013 began working for TD Williamson as a quality engineer. He transitioned to a project manager from 2015-19 and was named to his current position, a technical sales engineer, in 2019. In that position, Voegeli's territory covers all oil and gas transmission, distribution, gathering and refinery pipeline operators in Oklahoma and Kansas.
He married his wife Paige in 2017 and the couple is expecting their first child this September.
Voegeli said his game has improved the last few years and he's more consistent than his days at Southern. From here he has qualified for the Oklahoma Open, a 54-hole event held on August 20-22 at Oak Tree Country Club in Edmond, Okla. The field will consist of 144 players, mostly professional, with a few amateurs invited.
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