Marathon playoff lengthens invite

It took eight extra holes for Travis Mitchell to be named champion of the Phil Cotton Invitational on Sunday.

Tied for the lead after Saturday’s first round, Missouri golfer John Kelly finished his second round just before 5:30 p.m. Sunday with a strong two-day total of 134 and headed to the scoreboard next to the clubhouse at A.L. Gustin Golf Course. There, he found himself in a three-way tie for the lead.

The announcement came over the loud speaker that Kelly would join Mitchell of Springfield, Mo., and Connor McHenry of Jefferson City, in a sudden-death playoff. The fans that gathered to watch the event’s conclusion, jumped back into their carts along with tournament officials and other golfers. Not Kelly.

The 21-year-old Tigers standout, who will begin his senior season this fall, teed off on the first hole, picked up his bag and began the quiet walk to his ball. Kelly says walking helps keep him focused.

“Riding in the cart sometimes you can feel like you are hurrying, at least in tournaments.” said Kelly, who won the tournament two years ago. “It’s good. It’s the way the game is supposed to be played, I think.”

McHenry missed his putt, but Mitchell and Kelly birdied the first hole in the playoff and continued with a parade of golf carts in tow. The pair both shot par for the next six holes despite some troubles on the sixth hole where Mitchell hit a yard marker and Kelly had an unlucky bounce off the green.

“Here, we go again,” joked fans, one begging for someone to birdie the hole because his cooler was mysteriously out of beer.

“Once we got to like the fourth or fifth hole, it seemed like we were going to be out there all day,” Mitchell, 33, said. “You just kind of settled in a played some golf.”

The long day for players and fans, ended when Kelly narrowly missed a short putt on the eighth hole for birdie as the sun began to set.

After Mitchell’s 26 holes Sunday, and after a few pictures for the clubhouse, he headed inside to shop. The tournament winner received $750 in pro shop gift certificates. Mitchell picked out a new maroon colored golf bag among his other purchases.