When Nick Fowlkes was playing high school golf with the West Ranch Wildcats, the Stevenson Ranch native never imagined playing golf past college was a possibility – let alone winning. But after the West Ranch graduate captured the 127th Southern California Golf Association Amateur Champio nship at the Valencia Country Club last week, Fowlkes said winning the amateur was “a kid’s dream come true.”   “It’s kind of surreal. I teed up not having any expectations and to just play my first tournament since I graduated from Troy last June,” Fowlkes said in an interview with The Signal.   Fowlkes, who played in his first amateur tournament since graduating from Troy University in Alabama, was all but sure his golfing career was behind him.   During Fowlkes’ time at the university, the West Ranch High School graduate led Troy to the program’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA Championship in 2025 in his senior season to end his collegiate golf career.   After Fowlkes graduated and returned to the Santa Clarita Valley, he was set to pursue a different career with the Los Angeles Fire Department.   But then he heard that the Valencia Country Club was hosting a 36-hole qualifier for a spot in the 127th SCGA Amateur Championship with their host club exemption.   Fowlkes decided to enter.   “It was pretty cool to be able to represent my home club and give them the opportunity to play in it,” he said. “At first there was pressure on me because I didn’t want to let anybody down … but after talking to them and the people there, it’s one big family. They couldn’t care less if I finished first or last.”   While Fowlkes had the support of his home club, the West Ranch graduate entered the tournament with the most support possible to turn in an impressive showing. And Fowlkes did just that.   In the first two rounds, Fowlkes was one of two players out of the field to record separate under-par rounds of 69 and 68.   In the third round, Fowlkes carded an even-par 71 and entered the final round with a two-shot lead over Coy Dobson of Orange, California.  In the final round, Fowlkes relied on his putting to turn in an even-par 71 and claimed the championship after he recorded three birdies on the back nine and finished at 279 (-5).   “I think having some course knowledge helped,” Fowlkes said. “But I think we just took it one side at a time and had fun with it and weren’t trying to put too much pressure on ourselves.”  Fowlkes said that before the tournament began, he was just hoping to turn in a result he can feel proud of. Now, after the win he feels like he represented his community proudly, especially the man who caddied for him, Ryan Fowlkes, Nick’s father.   “Being able to grow up and play that golf course, I had a lot of experience and had a really good caddy on the bag,” he said jokingly. “There’s no way to describe the relationship that we have. He’s been there from the very beginning and to be able spend four days with him and walking around the golf course doing what we both love was pretty special.”   With the championship win, Fowlkes’ name will be featured on the same trophy that has Tiger Woods, Sahith Theegala, Patrick Cantlay, Beau Hossler and Rico Hoey.  Fowlkes said to have his name among some of golf’s greats is a testament to the hard work he’s put in over the years and a dream come true.   “It’s kind of crazy. I would say you dream about this as a kid when you’re growing up playing golf,” Fowlkes said. “You’re always playing those games where you know if I can make this putt, I could add my name to one of those lists. And to have my nameengraved … you could say it’s a dream come true.”   Along with etching his name into the history books, Fowlkes also received a 10-year exemption to the SCGA Amateur Championship, along with an exemption into the 2026 U.S. Amateur Championship.   Should Fowlkes win the U.S. Amateur Championship, set to be held in mid-August in Philadelphia, the Stevenson Ranch native would receive exemptions into three of golf’s major championships in The Masters, the U.S. Open, and The Open Championship.   For Fowlkes, having the opportunity to play in the U.S Amateur Championship is a dream but also a full circle moment as he looks back at his time with West Ranch High School and how he used to just play golf with his best friends.  “The first few phone calls that I got were my buddies on that West Ranch golf team,” Fowlkes said on his former teammates’ reaction to his win. “So, that was kind of a full circle moment, which was pretty cool.”   Fowlkes still plans on pursuing a career in joining the Los Angeles Fire Department but with the SCGA amateur win, he’s going to enjoy the next few weeks and train for the U.S. Amateur Championship.   As Fowlkes prepares for the competition, all he’s focused on is playing well at the U.S. Amateur and to keep on pursuing his childhood dream of playing professional golf.   “I kind of put the golf career – from what I thought at least, turned the page. But it kind of flipped back,” he said. “But after winning, it kind of opened some new pages and we’ll have to see what comes after that. I’m going to enjoy these next few weeks, try to go play well and see what my next path in life is going to be.”   The post ‘A kid’s dream come true’ — West Ranch grad Nick Fowlkes wins SCGA Amateur appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal. ...read more read less