Carmel’s Mike Bell went into the final round of the IGA Mid Am at Prairie View Golf Club alongside a congested leaderboard, and two strokes behind Matt Vogt of Indianapolis. Bell did not let this hinder his play today, advancing forward early on with an even front nine and finishing the back side 1-under par. Bell’s finish was enough to put him into a three-way playoff with Vogt and Kenny Cook of Noblesville.
Bell and Vogt advanced alone into the third hole of the playoff, where Bell missed his short putt for birdie. The two players moved onto the fourth hole, where Bell was able to secure his par putt and defeat Vogt for the 2022 IGA Mid Am title.
“The beauty of being 75 and winning is that you didn’t expect it, you weren’t worried about it, and you didn’t lose any sleep last night thinking about it. I tell people kiddingly that I have two goals everyday, with waking up in the morning being one, and to try to shoot my age or better” said Bell.
Bell added “I felt very disadvantaged going into the playoff today because we were starting on a par 5, where I am hitting the ball 250/260 and they are hitting 350. Golf is a funny sport though. Sometimes just because you hit it a long way, doesn’t mean you’re going to win. I hit all of my shots solid and I didn’t make any mistakes. I just only made one birdie out of the four (playoff) holes, where if I would have made two birdies, I could have had this over with a little earlier” said Bell.
Bell previously won the IGA Mid Am Championship back in 2005 and now once again claims the title seventeen years later.