Published: July 24, 2009 11:05 pm      

TIM'S TAKE: Reigning champ Mitchell tempers expectations

LEWISTON — As Adam Mitchell nibbled on breakfast at Niagara Falls Country Club, he scanned the walls for something to read. That’s when the former Georgia Bulldog got a reminder of his everlasting link to the history of one of America’s most prestigious amateur golf tournaments.

“It’s cool seeing all the crests of the Porter Cup champions and seeing my name up there,” Mitchell said on Friday. “It’ll be there as long as this place is here.”

With a hot putter and a scorching opening round of 62, Mitchell took the green jacket in last year’s Porter Cup by three strokes, edging Zach Sucher for the hardware. The week was magical, as Mitchell father surprised him by hopping a flight to work the bag for the final round.

It was far and away his biggest tournament win. Still is.

This year, Mitchell returned to NFCC to defend his crown, although he clearly understood that following last year’s performance would be no small feat.

“It’s hard. Any other performance but a win when you come back is disappointing,” Mitchell said. “It’s hard because you can’t expect that out of yourself. After last year, knowing that I can compete with the best, showing everybody else I can do it, that’s special. It gives you a whole lot of confidence. It gives you a fire to make you want to do it again.

“But you just have to play golf and have fun.”

He didn’t have much fun on Friday, as back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 4 and 5 pushed Mitchell to 1-over for the event, eight shots off the lead. His chances of repeating are nearly nil as Tim Mickelson and Mike Van Sickle each stand at 7-under.

Mitchell knows why he’s out of contention — that hot putter didn’t make the trip this time around. He said he’s hit the ball better than last year, much better, in fact, but the putter has let him down.

Still, returning to the course that gave him his biggest win has been a thrill for Mitchell, who was featured prominently on Porter Cup posters alongside another former champ and his former collegiate teammate, Brian Harman.

“It’s been great. Everybody’s been awesome,” he said. “It’s fun to be back. Steve (Denn) has been great. Everything I could ever want, they do without asking.”

Do Mitchell and Harman ever share barbs about which victory was bigger?

Mitchell said no.

“It’s more cool that the school (Georgia) has won five. It shows how good our program is. This is one of the best tournaments in the whole world and the best players come to play and we’ve won four of the last 12.

“It just shows how good our program is.”

Contact sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.