It’s safe to say Paul Mitzel won’t forget his Round of 64 match for a while, even if he didn’t have a chance to finish it.
The 35-year-old Mid-Amateur from Seattle was in the middle of a back-and-forth match in the Round of 64 at the 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. The match went to extra holes, but Mitzel lost the match in 20 holes to fourth-seeded Ryan O’Rear without hitting a shot past the 19th.
Mitzel’s caddie accepted a cart ride from the first green to the second tee, with the rules official calling a penalty immediately, ending the match. Model Local Rule G-6 states “during a round, a player or caddie must not ride on any form of motorized transportation except as authorized or later approved by the committee.”
“Too bad it had to end that way,” Mitzel told Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine.
“I have to think anyone in that situation takes the ride when a shuttle driver asks if they want to hop on really quick and not think anything of it. … My caddie doesn’t deserve any fault. He’s the man and an awesome friend. I’d do the same thing in his shoes. We were having so much fun, it’s too bad.”
After the penalty was called, O’Rear asked the official whether he could veto the ruling and continue the match, which was denied, per Golf Channel.
Each player won seven holes in the first 18, with only the fourth tied hole of the match on the 18th sending them to extras. Both players made par on the par-4 first before Mitzel’s caddie accepted the ride.
O’Rear will face George Ordway in the Round of 32 on Tuesday, with other notables like three-time winner Stewart Hagestad, defending champion Evan Back, brothers Cody and Bobby Massa and more moving on.
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