Willie Mack III during the Korn Ferry’s UNC Health Championship in June 2023. | Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images
Willie Mack III, a former HBCU golfer, will make his major championship debut at Pinehurst No. 2 for the U.S. Open.
Willie Mack III has 70 professional wins on various tours. Many of those came on the Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA), the circuit that aims to bring greater diversity to golf. But the 35-year-old pro has never competed in a U.S. Open before.
That changes this week at Pinehurst No. 2, where Mack III—a “Mini Tour legend,” as Golf Channel’s Rich Lerner nicknamed him—earned one of the 156 spots in this year’s field via final qualifying.
How he made it through the Jupiter, Florida, qualifier is wild in and of itself. For his first 18 holes on ‘Golf’s Longest Day,’ Mack III posted a 1-under 71, keeping him in the hunt for the afternoon round. Seventy-three players had teed it up at the Bear’s Club that day, vying for five spots. But Mack III put himself in jeopardy of missing out at the start of his second 18 holes. He bogeyed the par-3 2nd to drop him back to even overall, three shots back of where he needed to be.
Seven more pars followed on the front, and when Mack III made the turn, he needed to make three birdies on the back.
“We need to make a run,” Mack III told his caddy, his brother Alex.
That he did.
The former Bethune-Cookman Wildcat made a birdie at 10, and then suddenly, unbeknownst to him, he received a gift from the golfing gods. Joaquin Niemann, one of the best players on LIV Golf, made a double-bogey up ahead on the 15th hole, thus opening the door for Mack III.
Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Willie Mack III during a practice round ahead of the 2024 U.S. Open.
Funny enough, Mack III birdied the par-4 15th, which put him at 2-under. He needed to get to 3-under for a playoff that would determine who would go to Pinehurst.
After pars on 16 and 17, he needed to make a birdie on the 18th, a 574-yard par-5.
“I didn’t know [the situation] until I looked at the scores on the 18 tee,” Mack III said to Playing Through.
“For [Niemann] to do that, and then it was all up to me to make birdie on the last hole to get into that playoff. So, luckily, I hit a good drive, made a good swing, and made an easy birdie.”
Mack III then advanced via a 3-for-1 playoff, which, as he explains, proved much easier than a 6-for-1 playoff he had to withstand a few weeks prior.
“Just being able to go into that playoff [at the Bear’s club] with a little confidence from a few weeks prior was huge,” Mack III said.
“Kinda surreal for it to happen, but I’m glad I got it done.”
A year ago, Mack III earned status on the Korn Ferry Tour, hoping it would elevate his game to the next level. Sadly, the 2023 season did not go well for him, as he struggled to garner any momentum. He kept missing cut after cut, and things got so bad that he and his brother Alex parted ways.
“I got my butt kicked out there,” Mack III recalls.
“I think I was just being too aggressive everywhere. But I’m glad I went through those tough times. I think it just made me a better person, and a stronger individual coming into this big week at Pinehurst.”
Surely, Mack III will play more conservatively at the U.S. Open this week. His goal is to fire at the middle of the greens and rely on his best attribute—his putting—to make the cut and possibly contend. He also said his mental fortitude is now his strong suit, a necessity at the U.S. Open.
But without struggling so much before, he would have never adapted like he has. And now, he has the opportunity of a lifetime in the heart of the Carolinas.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
