William Mitchell (Submitted Photo)

Mitchell shot a final round 2-under 70 and birdied three of his first four holes to pull away from the field. He carded rounds of 75-73-70 to get to 2-over

It was a bit mixed today," Mitchell said. "My ball striking wasn't great, but my short game was unbelievable, embarrassingly so." 

Mitchell had chip-ins on holes No. 3 and 7 to punctuate that short game prowess. 

"I got it up and down from some spaces that you probably aren't supposed to get it up and down from," Mitchell said. "But I guess that's what happens when you win; some things go your way."

Mitchell, in his first appearance at the Heron Creek and first time playing the course, started the final round one shot back from Chad Branton of Cartersville, Ga., but a final-round 6-over 78 opened the door for the field. 

And Mitchell capitalized.

"I felt like with the way the conditions were, I felt like a couple under would be hard to beat," Mitchell said.

Now Mitchell will head into the rest of the year with a win under his belt and some newfound confidence. He is currently ranked No. 34 in the AmateurGolf.com Senior Rankings. 

Mitchell founded Billy Mitchell Training, won the 2016 Georgia Senior Open, and was runner-up at the 2012 Georgia State Amateur. He also won the 2010 and 2011 Georgia State Public Links. 

"I haven't won in a while," Mitchell said. "I had a couple of good years in 2021 and 2022, but I haven't been able to duplicate that."

Mark Lindberg of Irvine, Tex., finished in solo second place at 8-over, while Branton finished in solo third place at 9-over. Brian Groff of Lakewood Ranch, Fla., finished in solo fourth place at 11-over, and Brad Steven of Concord, Ohio, finished in solo fifth place at 12-over.