“I had a dream to be here one day and all the people in my life helped to give me that opportunity and I am going to do my best to continue glorifying the Lord through my actions and living out this dream.”
Mitchell Strickland
Lee University sophomore Mitchell Strickland likely enjoys the best of both worlds when it comes to being a college student and a member of a successful golf team. His father, Tim has worked as a PGA Professional throughout Mitchell’s life and his mother Shelley is currently the CEO of Charlotte Community Foundation and is a former vice-president at Georgia College.
“My parents are a very important part of my life and make up who I am,” said the talented Flame in a serious tone.
“My dad has given me endless support and opportunities to help me live out my dream and grow as a golfer. My mother has helped me in so many ways whether that was help with school or taking me across the country for junior golf tournaments that prepared me to get to Lee.”
Strickland was born in Marietta, Ga. but his family made the move to Ann Arbor, Mich. when he was one-year old. “I lived in Ann Arbor until I was 16,” he pointed “I love the state of Michigan. I have many of my best memories there and so many friendships.” It was there where he began playing competitive golf at age 12. “That was later than most as I was competitive in baseball and basketball before deciding to focus solely on golf.”
Like so many modern-day sports, junior golf brought favorite highlights, places, and friendships to Mitchell. “On the competition side getting to qualify and play in the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur in Bandon Dunes, Oregon was amazing,” he proudly stated. “That along with qualifying for some of the bigger tournaments where I lived like the Michigan Amateur, Michigan State Junior Amateur, and Michigan Junior Invitational. I was able to play in those events multiple times and had good finishes in each.”
Those days probably ended too soon, and it was time to select his college home for the next four years. His parents had connections with Lee, and they were not total strangers to Cleveland, Tenn. but it was the son’s choice to make.
“I chose to come to Lee because of the connection that I felt between the team,” Mitchell explained. “Everybody got along, and the team competed at the highest level of DII golf. I wanted to come and be a part of that. It is an amazing school and has a great business school which fits my accounting major.”
Said Lee Head Golf Coach Evan Spence, “Mitchell is a phenomenal teammate and has really come into his own this year as a big-time contributor for us on the golf course as well. He has so much natural talent and he has been able to work himself into a head space this year where he has been able to put that talent on display.
“It has been awesome to see him develop his game over the last couple of years through a lot of hard work and watch as he has begun to really believe in himself more and more - especially in competitive play, both at home in qualifying and on the road in our events. Mitchell was huge for us last week at regionals with an extremely steady performance and I am excited to watch him compete for us at the National Championship as well!” the coach stressed in closing.
Tournament playing time is hard to come by for newcomers on the Lee golf team. Mitchell watched his teammates play during his first year at Lee. He admitted it took a lot of discipline and talking with those around him to realize that he was capable of being better than how he had performed.
“That to me was the confidence that I got from my parents and specifically a great conversation I had with Coach Spence and his wife before I left for the summer after freshman year,” he pointed out. “In regard to this year I felt great coming into the fall, but my game just never was there. Over this winter I made some great strides in my game and felt motivated for a great spring.”
Mitchell’s breakthrough came when he won challenge matches in the spring and earned a position in the top five. His play continued to get better in five matches and in the Gulf South Conference tourney leading to the NCAA South/Southeast Regional Championship at Howey in the Hills, Fla., and the Mission Inn Resort course. “I had played the course before during my junior tournaments,” he noted. Maybe that led to his consistent 1-over par play over 54 holes and helped the Flames qualify for the Nationals.
The sophomore described his team’s play in the regional. “The tournament showed the grit of this team. We had some solid play on the first day. The second day, As a group we never had our best stuff, it got out of hand with some sloppy mistakes from everyone down the stretch that day.
“Afterwards there was a lot of emotions going around. Eventually, we had a meeting as a team. Coach (Spence) had a great message and really communicated his belief in us and how we were not going to let everybody write us off after that round. That showed when we came out with a different mindset and got us going strong toward Nationals.”
There are other goals remaining for Mitchell. “The most important thing is to continue my progress in academics and graduate with my accounting degree,” he allowed. “For golf individually my goal is to win a tournament and continue lowering my scoring average and producing better finishes. That does correlate with how I want to continue to help the team win tournaments and be the best that we can be.”
His closing remarks were geared to individuals who helped him come to Lee and have stood by his side. “I want to add a thank you note to everyone here at Lee as well as my parents and family. To former golf coach John Maupin for believing in me and giving me an opportunity, and that continues with Coach Spence, assistant coach Beck (Burnett) and (volunteer assistant) Haverly (Spence) and (former assistant) Connor Pollman.”