08perseverance at the publinks
beware the angry golfer. that was the lesson learned at bandon dunes when brianna
do and corbin mills let recent disappointments inspire their victories at the women’s
and men’s u.s. amateur public links championships. do, a senior-to-be at ucla, was
back in los angeles when the bruins won the ncaa title in may, the odd player out of
a lineup that ran six deep. “i’ve been really motivated,” said the 21-year-old from lake-
wood, calif. “it [stunk that] i wasn’t there.” although trailing for 21 of the first 34 holes in
the wapl final versus incoming wake forest freshman marissa dodd, do never disap-
peared, and won the 35th hole with a birdie to square the match, then claimed a 1-up
victory with a par on the 36th. likewise, mills, a rising junior at clemson, said enough
was enough with his shaky putter after the tigers failed to qualify for ncaas this spring.
staying on campus for the summer, the 21-year-old easley, s.c., native has been driven
to improve the part of his game he says has kept him from reaching his potential. it
showed on the tricky fescue greens at old macdonald and bandon trails, mills earning
medalist honors before outlasting derek ernst in 37 holes during saturday’s finale. “i
haven’t really won anything since before college,” mills said, “so i wanted my win to be
big.” does a national title and a spot in next year’s masters, suffice? —Ryan Herrington
usga/John mummert
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