North Carolina State University Athletics
Above and Beyond This Year
4/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 14, 2011
RALEIGH, N.C. – Mitch Sutton came to NC State in the fall of 2009, another successful Canadian junior golfer who followed the maple-lined trail to Raleigh.
Sutton, a two-time Canadian junior national champion, played alongside defending NCAA champion Matt Hill and then-senior Brad Revell. He was in the starting lineup for all 12 tournaments and was third on the team with a 73.6 stroke average.
It was a successful debut for a player who arrived with great expectations. But Sutton, who had twice finished fifth in tournaments last spring and fall, wanted more. So he vowed to spend more time working on his game, above and beyond the normal practice schedule with his Wolfpack teammates, above and beyond his private instruction with his swing coach and above and beyond his summer and winter training sessions with Team Canada, the amateur training program for his country’s top young players.
He could be seen on the driving range at Lonnie Poole Golf Course early in the morning, late in the evening and in good and bad weather. His rededicated work ethic reminded some of Hill, who won a school- and ACC-record eight tournaments in 2009, including the ACC championship, the NCAA regional and the NCAA championship.
“Mitch has worked a lot harder,” said veteran Wolfpack men’s coach Richard Sykes. “He’s always been a very talented player – I knew that the first time I saw him play.
“But right now, he’s putting in extra time working on what had been his weaknesses, and he’s gotten better.”
Two weeks ago, Sutton notched his first collegiate win at The Hootie at Bull’s Bay Intercollegiate in Awendaw, S.C. The sophomore from London, Ontario, won on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to defeat LSU’s Andrew Loupe, capping off a cold and windy weekend that suited Sutton’s upbringing north of the border.
It also earned Sutton the traditional ride on the tournament’s Brahman bull mascot, just as Hill did in 28 and 2010.
“That was a little crazy,” Sutton said. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to get up there.”
But Sykes is sure it won’t be Sutton’s only celebration as a college golfer.
“We haven’t come close to seeing the best he’s got,” Sykes said. “Since last year, his ball striking has gotten better. He’s spent much more time on his putting. And I think he’s just a tougher player now. I think he is grinding a little harder now.”
In a word, both Sutton and his game are maturing. In golf, that translates into on-course success. For his efforts, Sutton was named the ACC’s Player of the Month for March.
“I think it did take some time to get acclimated,” said Sutton, who like Hill and Revell won the Ontario Amateur Championship prior to his arrival at NC State. “Having known some of the guys who were already here was a big help for me. It’s definitely a lot different down here, both school-wise and people-wise.”
But he spent plenty of time tailgating for football games and attending basketball games with his teammates, learning how to be an American college student and learning to play college golf. He finished 21st at the ACC tournament and 28th in the NCAA East Regional.
In the fall, he helped the Wolfpack win two team titles and snag a pair of runner-up finishes.
“He’s like a lot of golfers,” Sykes said. “He came in with a lot of credentials, but there is a learning curve once you get here. It takes a while to move to the top of the heap. He’s getting there.”
This weekend, Sutton and Choi will be on display as NC State hosts the Wolfpack Spring Open, which starts Saturday morning at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course. The 19th-ranked Pack has finished fifth in back-to-back tournaments.
“Hopefully, we can keep doing what we have been doing,” Sutton said. “If everyone can keep working together to help each other’s game, we’ll continue to be successful.”
• By Tim Peeler, tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
