The CSGA Links Volume 5 Issue 2 June 2017 | Page 26

CHAMPIONSHIPS
Back Nine Charge: Monte Mullen Wins Palmer Cup
M
onte Mullen of TPC River Highlands
held the overnight lead of the 14th
Russell C. Palmer Cup with Steve
Chevalier (Lake of Isles) and David Giulietti (Golf
Club of Avon) after posting a round of even-par
69 in cold and wet conditions on Monday. But
a slow start on Tuesday morning coupled with
a double-bogey on the final hole of his second
round left Mullen believing his chances of winning
had evaporated.

“I felt pretty confident this morning and I
had a feeling I would need something around par
to keep pace with the lead,” said Mullen. “Even
after I made double-bogey on my twelfth hole, I
didn’t feel too bad about my round. But making
double on #9 to shoot 78 was really deflating.”

His second round score of 78 dropped him
to eight strokes behind Giulietti, whose steady
round of 70 put him in control. In fact, seventeen
26 | CSGA Links // June, 2017
players stood between Mullen and the lead, making
any chance of a comeback seem improbable.

“I was sitting at lunch before going back
out for the final round just thinking about relaxing,
trying to shoot a respectable score and maybe get
into the top-5,” said Mullen.

But final round comebacks are no surprise
in recent Palmer Cup history. In 2014, Blake
Morris trailed the leaders by eight strokes heading
into the final round before making a late move up
the leaderboard. A year later, Benjamin Day made
up eight strokes in the last 27 holes and emerged
victorious in a playoff.

After opening with back-to-back bogies on
the second and third holes, the gap had grown
to ten strokes. But as the leaders were faltering,
Mullen quietly made four birdies in the next eight
holes to get within three strokes of the lead.

“I honestly didn’t even think about the
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