Jimmy Mee one step away from U.S. Open

Jimmy Mee is one step closer to qualifying for the U.S. Open, one of golf’s four premier events.

Mee, a 24-year-old Libby native, will compete in a sectional qualifier Monday at Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell, Ore., with the chance to advance to the U.S. Open.

To qualify for a sectional, golfers must first compete in a local qualifier. Mee placed third at his local qualifier at the Missoula Country Club on May 13. The top three golfers advanced, but Mee’s path was not easy — it took him a six-hole playoff to qualify.

“I didn’t play well all day,” Mee said. “I ended up just hanging on and sneaking into the playoff.”

Mee competed against Travis Hofland of Twin Falls, Idaho, in the playoff. After both golfers parred five consecutive holes, Hofland bogeyed the sixth hole and Mee sunk his par putt to advance.  

Mee said he plays the Missoula Country Club course often, which helps him feel comfortable hitting tee shots.

Once advancing out of a local qualifier, golfers may compete in any of 12 sectional events. Mee chose Emerald Valley because he has experience playing there.  

He was in the same situation two years ago, competing in the sectional at Emerald Valley with a chance to advance to the U.S. Open.  

“That was the first time I had qualified for a big tournament,” Mee said. “I was maybe afraid that I wasn’t supposed to be there.”

Mee said he missed the cut by five or six shots, but this year is different.

“I’m mentally so much better, and fundamentally so much better,” Mee said. “I feel like I should be able to make it through if I play well.”

Mee is traveling to Creswell today, to play the course and prepare.

“The shot I’m most uncomfortable with is the tee shot,” Mee said. “I need to know where to keep the ball to give myself the best chance to birdie or par.”

There will be 50 players competing in the sectional at Emerald Valley; Mee said he will find out the number of U.S. Open qualifiers when he arrives.

After graduating from Libby High School, Mee attended Carroll College in Helena to play basketball, but quickly got involved in golf.

“It’s so hard mentally,” he said. “You are always facing something new.”

Mee, a son of active golfers, began golfing at the age of two or three. Jerry Mee, Jimmy’s dad, said his son has always had determination and work ethic. Jimmy Mee graduated from Carroll College in four years and earned an engineering degree.

“It’s wonderful,” Jerry Mee said of Jimmy’s recent golf success.

Jimmy Mee’s high school golf coach, Dann Rohrer, said Jimmy worked on becoming mentally tough and developing the intangibles required of a successful golfer.  

“He just has a desire to get better,” Rohrer said. “He has the willingness and the drive to put the time in to do it. He was always the last one to leave.”

In addition to Mee’s success at the local qualifier, Mee is the reigning Montana Open champion.

All 12 of the sectional qualifiers for the U.S. Open will take place on June 2-3. They are 36-hole events.