Mill River's Mark Mielke was Senior PGA contender

The teacher in Mark Mielke had some strong and timely advice for Mielke the golfer late in the final round of a major championship in St. Louis last Sunday. Following a triple bogey 7 on the 10th hole, the club pro at Mill River in Oyster Bay reminded himself, "You're not going to make things any better by thinking about it."

Mielke made three birdies on the back nine, including a clutch one on the 18th hole, and came away from the Senior PGA Championship with a crystal bowl as co-low club pro, and with the knowledge that he had a heck of a week in a field of full-time tour pros and a sprinkling of Hall of Famers.

"The 72nd hole of a major is not your average afternoon round against your buddies," said the 50-year-old club pro who was in the top 10 on Sunday and finished 28th overall.

It was a triumph for him, and for his members, who had been following just about every one of his shots all week. "They were glued to the TV, they were glued to the Internet," Mielke said, proud of having made the cut in a major for the first time (he had been in five PGA Championships and four U.S. Opens).

"I want to get into as many senior events as I can," he said.

Mielke knows that club pros and their members have to reach a delicate balance. At some clubs, the members love seeing their pro's name on leader boards, at others, the members want their pro to be in the shop or on the range. He said that his wife, Leigh, helps the shop run smoothly and his assistants are good at keeping the course running when he is away, so his members are not upset when he is away for a few days (he tied for second at the Met PGA Head Pro Championship Tuesday and Wednesday).

"They like seeing the 'Mill River' name getting out there," Mielke said. "We had a tournament here [Monday] and everybody wanted to know what it was like to be around Tom Watson and Tom Kite. They wanted to hear all the stories."

He did return with plenty of stories, such as being too bold from the trees on No. 10 Sunday. He figured he was out of any contention until he heard scores from his caddie Will Thursby, a former Mill River assistant pro. So Mielke knew he needed a birdie on the final hole and rifled a 182-yard 6-iron right at the pin. He made an eight-foot left-to-right breaker.

That was not even the week's greatest drama. Mielke's father, Robert, a retired Air Force officer who drove from South Carolina, slipped during a practice round and broke his leg. "Every day, I'd leave the course and go to the hospital," the golfer said. The elder Mielke, a trouper, drove home on Monday.

It helped that veteran tour players were gracious to club pros all week. Mielke's playing companions Dan Forsman, Joe Ozaki and Jim Thorpe, were impressed with his game and told him so. At one point several fans yelled to Thorpe, a two-time winner of the Commerce Bank Long Island Classic, "Hey Jim, Eisenhower Red!"

"I thought, 'Hey, I know where that is,'" said Mielke, the club pro who put himself on the map.