Willie Mack III has 70 professional wins on various tours, many of them in the Advocates Professional Golf Association, a circuit that aims to bring more diversity to the game of golf, but the 35-year-old pro has never played in a U.S. Open.
That all changed this week at Pinehurst No. 2, when Mack III, who Golf Channel’s Rich Lerner called a “mini-tour legend,” earned a spot in the final qualifying round among this year’s 156 competitors.
How he made it through the cut in Jupiter, Florida, is a wonder in itself. After the first 18 holes of “The Longest Day in Golf,” Mack III shot a 1-under 71 and put himself in position to win going into the afternoon round. There were 73 players competing for five spots at Bears Club that day. But at the start of the second 18 holes, Mack III was in danger of missing out. A bogey on the par-3 second hole put him back at even overall, three strokes behind.
Seven more pars followed on the first half and Mack III needed three birdies on the second half when he made the turn.
“We’ve got to try to win,” Mack III told his brother, Alex, who was his caddie.
He did so.
The former Bethune-Cookman Wildcat player birdied the 10th hole, but then, unbeknownst to him, he received a sudden gift from the golf gods: Joaquin Niemann, one of LIV Golf’s best players, double-bogeyed the 15th hole, giving Mack III an opportunity.
Interestingly, Mack III birdied the par-4 15th hole to get to 2 under and needed to get to 3 under to reach the playoff for a spot at Pinehurst.
After pars on the 16th and 17th, he needed a birdie on the 18th, a 574-yard par-5.
“I did not know [the situation] “That’s what I thought until I saw the score on the 18th tee,” Mack III told Playing Through magazine.
“for [Niemann] “The only way I could do that was to get a birdie on the last hole to get into a playoff. Luckily, I hit a good drive, made a good swing and got an easy birdie.”
Mack III then advanced through a 3-1 playoff series that, by his account, proved to be much easier than the 6-1 playoff series he had to endure a few weeks earlier.
“Just being able to get into the playoffs [at the Bear’s club] “It was a big thing having a little bit of confidence from a few weeks ago,” Mack III said.
“It’s a little surreal that it’s happening, but I’m glad I got it done.”
A year ago, Mack III earned Korn Ferry Tour status and hoped it would take his game to the next level. Unfortunately, the 2023 season didn’t go well for him and he struggled to gain any momentum. He continued to miss the cut multiple times and things got worse, leading to him and his brother Alex splitting up.
“I got beat up in there,” Mac III recalled.
“I think I was too aggressive everywhere, but I’m glad I got through those tough times. I think it made me a better person and a stronger person going into this big week at Pinehurst.”
Mack III will definitely play more conservatively this week at the U.S. Open. His goal is to hit shots in the middle of the green and rely on his best skill — putting — to get through the cut and into the running for the championship. He also said that mental toughness is a strength he has now and will be important at the U.S. Open.
But he wouldn’t have made the adjustment he did if he hadn’t struggled so much before, and now he’s getting the opportunity of a lifetime in central Carolina.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
