“Both of them went in knowing they could play with anybody. I liked my chances having my pick of two guys. I figured at least one of them would be there at the end,” he said.
Lash was right. Mathiesen finished at 6-under overall, shooting 67, 71, 69 at Eagle Eye golf course in Bath, Mich., finishing one shot behind Kansas State’s Luke O’Neill for the lone qualifying spot.
Mathiesen caught fire on the back nine, shooting a 3-under 33. But he had reasonable birdie looks at 17 and 18 and couldn’t get them to drop.
Five teams — Georgia, Illinois, Oregon, Florida and Texas — advanced out of the field of 13 and made the NCAA championships May 26-31 at Grayhawk golf club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
One spot was reserved from each regional for the player with the best score among the teams that didn’t qualify and the 10 individuals in the field, meaning Mathiesen was beaten by only one player from that pool of 50.
He finished tied for fifth overall, while teammate Goecke went 70-77-70 for a tie for 39th.
“I have a mix of emotions for sure,” Mathiesen said. “I’m happy with how I played. If somebody told me at the beginning of the week that I’d finish top five, I would have grabbed his hand and said, ‘Heck yeah, let’s do it.’”
The individual players went off last, which meant O’Neill posted his 7-under total while Mathiesen still had several holes to play.
“Mikkel played some really good golf and had an opportunity at the end. Having that opportunity is only going to make him better,” Lash said.
“I think the coolest thing to see was, coming down the stretch, he knew what he had to do and executed it.”
Mathiesen made a 25-footer for birdie on 16. He missed a 10-footer on the 17th, which is a replica of the par-3 17th at TPC Sawgrass, the famed hole with the island green.
The 18th is a 589-yard par-5, which is gettable for a player of Mathiesen’s caliber.
“We were talking about eagle, because we wanted to try to eliminate the playoff,” Lash said. “And if we’re talking about eagle and don’t get it, then we still have a birdie.”
Mathiesen’s 3-wood approach into the wind fell about 50 yards short. He wedged it to 12 feet and just missed the tying birdie.
“I thought my putt on 17 had a good chance once I hit it. I thought that was definitely the better look. Both of them were big swingers right to left,” he said.
“I hit my driver really well all week. I think I only missed five or six fairways. I put myself in position and grinded it out pretty well.”
Mathiesen plans to take his fifth year of eligibility at Wright State, which means he probably will get another shot at playing in the NCAA championships.
“He’s got a pretty good head on his shoulders, so he knows there were some positives,” Lash said.
“That’s what’s helped him over the years. He doesn’t get too high or too low.”
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