Mitchell golden oldie at Western Am; Ghim lurks

Writing from Lake Forest, Illinois

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Todd Mitchell said college golf has changed since his days in that sphere.

“College and high school kids now are exceptionally talented, play almost every week, practice a lot,” Mitchell said. “They’re like tour players, almost. When I first started, I don’t know if it was the Tiger effect, but he never talked with anybody. And there wasn’t a lot of socializing.

“But I’ve noticed the past two or three years, they come up and talk a lot. They obviously know I’m not in college any more, and ask how old I am, what I’ve done, and then more questions come.”

Maybe it’s because Mitchell is 38, bald, and is as likely to sell you an insurance policy at the turn as he is to shoot 70. He may be looked upon by them as an anomaly as much as anything, like an exhibit in a museum.

That would be a mistake, for Mitchell is as competitive as they come. And 70, by the by, was the Bloomington basher’s score on Wednesday at the Knollwood Club in the second stroke-play qualifying round of the 114th Western Amateur.

Add it to Thursday’s 69 and Mitchell owns a stylish 3-under 139, good for a tie for second, a stroke behind leader Sam Horsfield, entering Thursday’s 36-hole battle for spots in the Sweet Sixteen.

Take that, kiddies.

Mitchell accomplished it despite bogeying three of his first four holes.

“I just basically had a pep talk with myself,” Mitchell said. “Just said, ‘Hey, this isn’t anything new. Just go out and play.’ I don’t know if it was nerves starting out, but I felt I was moving really, really fast. I got into the swing of things on No. 5 (a 426-yard par 4). I hit a shot in there to 1 1/2 feet and made it. That kind of jump-started some things. I made two more birdies coming in and just kind of hung together on the back.

“I’m extremely happy with the way I gutted it around today.”

Gutted was the proper pronoun on a day where Knollwood’s greens – destined to be killed on Tuesday and replaced by new turf – were running faster by the hour. Fred Wedel of Pepperdine, who shot 75-73–128 and missed the cut, called them U.S. Open greens, and not in a complimentary fashion. “It was impossible,” he tweeted.

It wasn’t for Doug Ghim, the Arlington Heights whiz who matched Mitchell’s 139. He eschewed putting entirely on his last hole, the ninth, by chipping in for birdie after his approach skidded off the rock-hard green.

“I’m drawing on the experience of two years ago (when he was at Beverly),” Ghim said. “This course is kind of similar. The greens are firm – maybe firmer than at Beverly. They’re very fast. Very difficult if you’re not in the right spot. You’ve got to commit to every shot.’’

Oklahoma senior Max McGreevy had the move of the day, climbing from a tie for 121st after a first-round 77 to a tie for 18th via a sparkling 5-under 66. McGreevy, one of the several All-Big 12 team members at Knollwood Club, fared far better than Horsfield, whose 75 was a dozen strokes higher than his record-matching 63 in the opening round.

But Horsfield’s aggregate of 4-under 138 keeps him a stroke up on the field, though the real object is to be among the top 16 at nightfall on Thursday, and thus qualify for match play. The cut fell at 3-over 145, and includes 53 players, including Illinois Amateur champ Nick Hardy (141), Hardy’s Illinois teammate Dylan Meyer (143) and CDGA Amateur champ Andrew Price (144), the latter the only mid-amateur besides Mitchell to make it.

Around Knollwood

Defending champion Dawson Armstrong missed the cut, firing a pair of 76s for 10-over 152 and a trip back to Brentwood, Tenn. ... Newly-minted NHL referee Garrett Rank also missed the cut. ... Former U.S. Amateur champion Gunn Yang shot 85-83, his 168 missing the trim by 23 strokes. Aside from Peter Malik withdrawing, Yang was last in the field. ... Aaron Wise, whom Armstrong beat on the 20th hole of last year’s final at Rich Harvest Farms, won on the PGA Tour’s Canadian circuit last week in his third tournament playing for cold cash, and will be at the John Deere Classic next week.

– Tim Cronin