After a slow start to his SCGA Mid-Amateur, Matt Mitchell caught fire on day two (of three) — carding the lowest round of any competitor during the championship with a 65 and propelling himself up into a share of the 36-hole lead. On Wednesday, his consistent play against tricky hole locations would prove enough to win the championship by a two-stroke margin at Bear Creek GC.
Mitchell’s start on Monday was likely not what he had envisioned going into the competition, picking up three bogeys in his first fives holes. He would then rattle off three birdies in a row, showing flashes of the golf he would play in the second round. After day one, Mitchell had finished at +2 with a lot of names between him and the top of the leaderboard.
On Tuesday, Mitchell came out on fire with four birdies in his first five holes to get into red figures before he even reached the turn.
When asked about what changed for him between the first and second rounds, Mitchell said “This is a really tough course. It’s firm, fast and it gets windy in the afternoon. So the first day I just made a lot of mistakes and just couldn’t keep the bogeys and doubles off the card. But I made an adjustment … trusted my putter and made a lot of putts from the middle of the green.”
Mitchell’s back nine would be just as impressive as the front, notching an eagle on hole 11 and back-to-back birdies on holes 14 and 15. He would’ve left round two in solo lead of the championship if not for a bogey on hole 18, leaving him in a tie for the lead with Kyle Sharp— who he would pair with the following day. The final score 65 for Mitchell was the best round of the championship at -7.
Golfers on the final day of competitions were met with a nice treat from the SCGA Championships & Golf Operations staff — some incredibly tricky hole locations, especially on the final three holes of the course. Mitchell would bogey hole one, dropping him out of the lead but only for a hole as he would bounce back with multiple birdies while Sharp would double bogey hole 2. Mitchell would go on to add back-to-back birdies on holes 8 and 9, positioning him at -8 for the championship and comfortably in the lead.
Consistency would be the name of the game during a challenging back nine, and Mitchell would accomplish this by avoiding double bogeys at all costs. While carding four bogeys during the home stretch, it would have little effect on the outcome of the proceedings with Mitchell finishing the championship at -5, two strokes better than any other competitor.
Finishing behind Mitchell were Torey Edwards, who was consistent throughout the championship with all his scores falling between 70 and 72, and Kyle Sharp, who finished tied with Edwards at -3 following an eventful round sprinkled with birdies and bogeys throughout.
With the win, Matt Mitchell earned an exemption for the upcoming SCGA Amateur Championship at Valencia CC, The California Amateur Championship at Hacienda GC and the next ten SCGA Mid-Amateur Championships.