Tiger Woods saunters past him. He watched him on TV. Still does. Dad bought tickets to see him at the old Buick tournament. Tiger freaking Woods! Be cool.
Putt well. Don’t ship this ball on the Pinehurst practice green to Charlotte.
Willie Mack III drains it. Not even a flinch. He drags over another ball. Woods is gone.
A few minutes later, as Mack is waiting for his U.S. Open practice-round tee time, Mike Tirico tells him he knows his story. He says he’s hoping for the best for him.
A small crowd also builds. The U.S. Open! Mike Tirico? He’s on TV! A crowd? Really?
He’s ready. And he’s been ready. You tend to think about how such things would go when you’re playing — and winning — on every mini tour there is.
Florida Pro Tour. Moonlight Tour. On and on. Wherever you can snag a spot.
Wherever they pay. You also tend to think about how such things would go when you’re trying to fall asleep in your black Ford Mustang,
somewhere in who-knows-where Florida, hoping the late-night hotel worker doesn’t shout at you to move your two-door, four-wheel home.
You’ve pictured Pinehursts and U.S. Opens, even though there haven’t been many other Black golfers make it, because you believe. You think you can inspire. You want to.
This week, as they play the year’s third major, no one among the field of 156 has linearly arrived to this point, though Mack’s path has had more bumps than the greens here. Born in Flint, Mich., he and his dad, Willie Jr., learned the game together, though he says only one of their courses remains. The 35-year-old’s been a pro since graduating from Bethune-Cookman in 2011. He’s managed seven PGA Tour starts. Last year, he had full status on the Korn Ferry Tour. But he’s played mostly lower-rung events, though he won a playoff in an Open qualifier to get here, and who knows what could happen should he make it to late Sunday afternoon, in his first major-championship start.
A conversation starts there, from the far right corner of Pinehurst’s U.S. Open driving range.
When you won the playoff to get here, the three-for-one playoff in Florida, what was the first reaction you had, first thought you had, when it was, I’m in?
“Shocked, for sure,” Mack said. “But just in my head, I’m in the U.S. Open. It’s not like a dream anymore to try to play in the U.S. Open or a major. Just being able to book my ticket and get here and do all the travel at the last minute is kind of surreal, but like I said, it’s my job so hopefully I can come here and play good.”
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Source: Tampa Bay Times
