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Player loses U.S. Mid-Amateur match after his caddie receives cart ride to 20th hole

Paul Mitzel canâ€t remember a crazier match.

He and his Round-of-64 opponent, Ryan Oâ€Rear, put on a show Monday at the U.S. Mid-Amateur, held this week at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. The two players each took seven holes of regulation, all but two of them via birdie, and their traded pars at the par-4 18th not only marked just the fourth tied hole of the day but sent the match to extra holes.

“The match was incredible,†Mitzel said. “Iâ€ve played a lot of match play, and Iâ€ve never experienced anything like that. … Not sure Iâ€ll ever experience anything like that again.

“Too bad it had to end that way.â€

In the end, Mitzel, a 35-year-old from Seattle, lost in 20 holes to Oâ€Rear.

And the craziest part: Neither player hit a shot on that 20th hole.

Mitzel lost the hole after his caddie, a longtime friend, accepted a cart ride from the first green to the par-4 second, the second extra hole. The walking rules official called the penalty, which, per Model Local Rule G-6, resulted in loss of the hole – and, in this case, the match.

MLR G-6 states, “During a round, a player or caddie must not ride on any form of motorized transportation except as authorized or later approved by the committee.â€

Already on a flight home, Mitzel described the situation to Golf Channel in further detail. Oâ€Rear had just gotten up and down from a greenside bunker while he had two-putted from 25 feet to tie the hole. While Mitzel marched up the hill to the next hole, his caddie, having just put the flagstick back in the hole, was asked if he wanted a ride to the next tee by one of the shuttle drivers, who had just shuttled the players from the 18th hole back to the first and was following the match to bring the players back to the clubhouse upon its conclusion.

Mitzel added that players were also being shuttled between the 14th and 15th holes on the desert layout. He also said that Oâ€Rear asked the official if he could veto the ruling himself and continue the match, though that request was denied.

The violation was reminiscent of the Round of 64 at the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, where Akshay Bhatia lost the 14th hole after his caddie asked someone whom he thought was a USGA official if he could get a cart ride back from the bathroom and then hopped on; Bhatia went on to lose to Bradford Tilley in 19 holes. Also, three Korn Ferry Tour players were penalized two shots at the 2023 Lecom Suncoast Classic after taking shuttle rides midway through their second rounds.

“I have to think anyone in that situation takes the ride when a shuttle driver asks if they want to hop on really quick and not think anything of it,†said Mitzel, coming to his buddyâ€s defense. “… My caddie doesnâ€t deserve any fault. Heâ€s the man and an awesome friend. Iâ€d do the same thing in his shoes. We were having so much fun, itâ€s too bad.â€

This was Mitzelâ€s third straight U.S. Mid-Amateur appearance after he took about a decade off from competitive golf following his college career at Washington State. In addition to winning the 2022 Pacific Northwest Amateur and last yearâ€s Trans-Miss Mid-Amateur, Mitzel noted that heâ€s developed a knack for playoffs; six in three years to be exact – to qualify for his previous two U.S. Mid-Amateurs, to get into match play each of the past two years, to win his first-round match last year in 19 holes, and then Mondayâ€s 20-hole defeat.

“Itâ€s hardened me in a lot of ways,†said Mitzel, who became a dad six months ago, to son, Brooks. “I was looking forward to making a dent this year, and I truly believe I was about to.â€

Oâ€Rear, of Georgetown, Texas, advances to Tuesdayâ€s Round of 32, where heâ€ll face George Ordway of Charlottesville, Virginia. Other notables still alive in the knockout stage include three-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Stewart Hagestad; defending U.S. Mid-Amateur winner Evan Beck; brothers Cody and Bobby Massa, the latter of whom lost to Beck last year; Drew Kittleson and Stephen Behr Jr., both semifinalists last year; and several reinstated amateurs, including Ian Davis, a former college teammate of Talor Gooch at Oklahoma State, and Nahum Mendoza, who played with Xander Schauffele at San Diego State.

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This U.S. Ryder Cup team hire? ‘Itâ€s more of an asset for usâ€

Keegan Bradley says he felt silly. While he’d be the one doing the honoring, Bradley thought he’d be the one more rewarded.

But he still had to tell Larry Nelson that he wanted him to be his team’s ambassador.

“It’s really fun for us to see the guys around him and to have his knowledge and just his presence,” Bradley said.

“He’s a guy that we all look up to and really look forward to bringing him in at Bethpage.”

There, beginning next Friday, Bradley will captain the U.S. Ryder Cup team against Europe, and the Nelson appointment stands to work in a few ways. While he’d gone 9-3-1 across three Ryder Cup appearances and won three major championships, Nelson was never named a Cup captain, so Bradley’s move gives him some recognition.

But there’s his play, too; Nelson’s Ryder Cup record also includes a 4-1-0 mark against European legend Seve Ballesteros. Bradley said he was also appreciative of Nelson’s military service during the Vietnam War, and the ambassador idea was hatched in May at the PGA Championship’s champions dinner.

“I think that Larry Nelson is one of the best human beings I’ve ever met in my life,” Bradley said last week at the Procore Championship, where 10 of the dozen American Ryder Cuppers played as prep for Bethpage.

“… Hearing the stories from him and Lanny Wadkins and hearing about these old Ryder Cups and just knowing about his service to the country and his incredible Ryder Cup record, and then to top it off of what an amazing human being he is, it’s more of an asset for us to have him around. Like to have him around our guys, to have him talk about what the Ryder Cup means to him, tell stories of when he played. He — his Ryder Cup where he beat Seve four times, what an unbelievable, it’s like up there winning a major, nobody ever beat Seve four times.

“It’s really more of an honor for us to have him. Sometimes I feel silly in this role of inviting Larry Nelson to do this when he’s just this amazing golfer but better person, bigger role in our Ryder Cup history, and it’s really fun for us to see the guys around him and to have his knowledge and just his presence.”

The news came, Bradley said, last month during the PGA Tour’s Tour Championship in Atlanta, where Nelson lives. He’d been asked to do some interviews with the PGA of America, but Bradley said that was a setup in order to surprise Nelson with the appointment.

“I really feel it’s our duty to honor people like him, honor great Americans on our Ryder Cup team,” Bradley said. “When you have a guy that he alone is one of the best Ryder Cup players ever, but then you factor in his service in Vietnam and what he’s done for our country, it’s really stunning, it’s really an unbelievable story.

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“I also feel it’s so silly how I could be Ryder Cup captain and he can’t, he wasn’t. He would never say that. I felt like it was our duty to honor him and what he’s done for us.”

During an interview last week with Golf Channel’s “Golf Today,” Nelson said he was honored. He’s looking forward to it, too.

“Amazing, humbled by it,” Nelson said on “Golf Today.” “I really appreciated what Keegan said. It’s one of those things, I didn’t know a lot about Keegan — I know he won the PGA on the same

golf course as I did, knew a little about his history, about his father being a professional. It is amazing to me, and I’ve told a lot of people, you look into people’s eyes, you can kind of see their hearts sometimes. He is a great competitor. And I just feel like the U.S. team, the USA, the PGA is very fortunate to have him as captain this year.

“It’s going to be tough. It’s going to be a tough week. Both two good teams, and we needed a good captain, and I think he will be the one that will be able to motivate the guys. I just appreciate the opportunity to be able to go up there and watch it.”

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