Clutch Performance

Standing off the fairway in the rough on the 16th hole on the final day of the Georgia Amateur Championship, Dalton’s David Noll Jr. had to have had a sinking feeling.

The leader by a stroke coming into the day, his lead was down to one shot as Roswell’s Billy Mitchell was making the biggest charge of the day while carding a 5-under-par 65. And here was Noll with his feet in the tall grass.

But as champions do, he made a championship shot.

Noll hit his approach to within seven feet and then drained the birdie putt to effectively win the title.

“That ball could have run 40 yards back off the green,” Noll said. “The pin was cut tight on a false front, and somehow it just bounded up there to about seven feet, but it was about four inches from not holding and coming all the way back down the fairway. That was some good fortune for me. I didn’t even know that it was that close at that moment.”

Noll fired a final-round, 4-under-par 66, holding off Mitchell’s charge to win the 90th annual Georgia Amateur Championship by a score of 6-under 274 at Cherokee Town and Country Club in Atlanta. It was the second Georgia Amateur title for Noll, who also captured the title in 2003. Mitchell was one of two players to card a tournament-low 65 in the final round, finishing four strokes back at 278.

“There are not many people who have been able to win it twice and it is such an honor,” said Noll, who is the 15th person in the 90-year history of the tournament to win at least two titles. “Bobby Jones’ name is on the trophy twice, and now my name is on there twice. I cannot tell you the amount of support through e-mails and text messages that I got this week. It was awesome. It is a big deal for me, my family as well as the town we live in.”

Ironically, Noll gave a lot of credit to Mitchell for the victory. The two have known each other for years, and earlier this week Dalton Golf and Country Club Director of Golf Lowell Fritz had given Noll a couple of tips on his putting. Saturday after the third round of the tournament, Noll asked Mitchell to help him put Fritz’ advice to use on the putting green.

“Billy Mitchell is a great friend of mine and we were the last two guys practicing on Saturday night, and he spent 15 minutes of his own time helping me with my putting,” Noll said. “Ultimately that putting came back to win the tournament for me. He had a nice comment that he was glad that he could help me win. It is funny how things work out sometimes.”

Noll was paired with Georgia Tech golfer Anders Albertson and defending champion Lee Knox and held a one-stroke lead over Albertson coming into the day. Albertson had probably meant nothing by it, but in talking to the media following Saturday’s third round he said he was looking forward to playing in the final grouping with “Mr. Noll.” While it may not have intentionally been a reference to the difference in age — Albertson is 19, while Noll is 20 years older — it gave Noll a shot in the arm.

“I gave him a hard time about that this morning,” Noll laughed. “Anders beat me in the finals of the state match play last fall. He’s the one that knocked me out last year and the stars are the limit for him and his game, but maybe he had a little coming his way after he threw the ‘Mister’ at me.”

Albertson of Woodstock shot a 1-over 71 to finish third at even-par 280. Franco Castro of Alpharetta placed fourth at 283. Another Georgia Tech golfer, Seth Reeves of Duluth, tied with Ridge Purcell of LaGrange for fifth place with 284. Reeves carded 67 in the final round to move up into that position.

Noll owned a one-shot lead over Albertson going into the final 18 and began the day steady with five straight pars. Albertson tied him briefly with a birdie on No. 1, but it didn’t last as he posted bogey on the 188-yard second. Noll still owned a one-shot lead at No. 6, and made a 25-foot uphill putt for birdie while Albertson three-putted from about eight feet to expand the lead to three shots. Albertson then went on to double-bogey No. 7. Both players bogeyed No. 8 (Noll missing a one-footer), which he described as “the best thing that happened to me today.”

“Both players (Albertson and Lee Knox) had just had bogeys or double bogey, and I had been steady-eddy,” Noll said. “I was standing in the fairway thinking, ‘Well, here we go.’ I was almost thinking about my acceptance speech. So as embarrassing as it was, it really helped bring me back down to reality. In hindsight, it helped me out because it helped me refocus a little bit.”

But meanwhile, Mitchell, the reigning Georgia Public Links Champion, was making a charge. Playing two groups ahead of the final pairing, Mitchell posted two birdies on the front nine (holes 3 and 9) to turn at 2-under and move into second place, three shots back of Noll.

On the back nine, Mitchell posted a birdie on 12, then had three in a row on holes 14, 15 and 16. He cut Noll’s lead to one shot, but Noll was starting a birdie barrage of his own, gaining ground on 13, 15 and 16.

That birdie moved him to 5-under for the Championship. After a par on 17, Mitchell couldn’t keep the pace on 18, posting his only bogey of the day but finishing with a tournament-best round of 65. Cherokee club champion Dan Whigham Jr. matched him with a 65 of his own to move up to 16th place.

So Noll owned a three-shot lead on 18, but finished the Championship with an exclamation point, sinking a breaking 15-footer for birdie while he said he had tears in his eyes.

“You have to have good fortune come your way in a golf tournament, and I just feel very, very fortunate,” he said.

Noll captured the 2003 Georgia Amateur at Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw and, with this win, has finished sixth place or better in the Georgia Amateur in each of the last seven years, including two runner-up finishes (2005, 2009). Noll has won GSGA Men’s Player of the Year honors six times since 2003, including the last four years (2007-10).

Noll becomes the 15th golfer in the 90-year history of the Georgia Amateur Championship to win at least two titles. Allen Doyle owns the record with six, followed by Arnold Blum (five), Jim Gabrielsen and Danny Yates (three each). Others with two titles include Watts Gunn, Eugene Cook, Charles Yates, Billy McWilliams, Frank Mulherin Jr., Jack Key Jr., William Goodloe, Tommy Aaron, Carter Mize and Russell Henley.

The Georgia Amateur Championship is conducted by the Georgia State Golf Association and brings together 144 of the state’s best male amateur golfers for the prestigious state title first won by Bobby Jones in 1916.

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Noll runs away from the field for second title

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