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| Scholastic Sports & RecFriday, September 12, 2008 6:15 PM CDT |
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Mitchell misses shot for Masters but looking to future
RIVER HILLS, Wis. -- Todd Mitchell won’t get to play in the Masters next spring. But the Bloomington golfer said he’ll be back in the future to try again. Mitchell lost Thursday’s 36-hole championship match of the 28th annual U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Milwaukee Country Club. Steve Wilson of St. Martin, Miss., never trailed and downed Mitchell, 5 and 4, to earn a probable invitation to the Masters. “Yes I’m disappointed I didn’t win, but the overall experience was so good it’s hard to feel negative about it,” said the 30-year-old Mitchell, who won only four of 32 holes. “I didn’t think about it (the Masters) during the match. I purposely tried to put it out of my mind. The only time you can think about that is after you win. “He was a nice guy, and I wish him the best of luck there.” The winner of the Mid-Amateur, which is for golfers 25 and older, has received an invitation to the Masters every year since 1989. “This is like hitting the lottery for me,” said Wilson, who has never been to Augusta National. “I never believed I could win anything this big.” Wilson, 38, birdied No. 13 to take the lead for good and enjoyed a 2-up advantage after Thursday’s morning round. It appeared Mitchell might even the match on No. 18, but Wilson sank a 15-foot par putt while Mitchell missed a short par putt. Mitchell, 30, never got closer. Wilson birdied the first hole in the afternoon round and built a 5-up advantage with 10 holes left. Wilson made the last of his 14 one-putts for par on the 32nd hole to end the match. “The tale of today was I made a few too many mistakes, and the mistakes he made he backed up by making putts outside of 15 feet,” said Mitchell. “It just seemed I was unable to take advantage of any mistakes he made.” Being from the Midwest, Mitchell felt he made a connection with the volunteers and members. “I felt it was a home match for me,” he said. Besides the silver medal he earned for being the runner-up, Mitchell also is exempt into next year’s U.S. Mid-Amateur at Kiawah (S.C.) Club and the U.S. Amateur at Southern Hills (Okla.) Country Club. He also is exempt into sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open. Wilson gave his caddie all the credit for his victory. “My caddie kept giving me great read after great read,” said Wilson. “He read it. I just get over and it hit it where he says.” Wilson, reinstated as an amateur in 2005 after almost 10 years as a professional, owns two gas stations in Mississippi with Gary Martin, his caddie and business partner. “If you talk to people I play golf with a lot, they’ll tell you I’m the worst putter they’ve ever seen,” he said. “Today just seemed like my day.” E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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