Mike Mottola’s inspiring story of a fight against cancer has been afforded plenty of traction on the local level over the last seven years.
But thanks to a trip to a national golf championship this past weekend that would have been most unthinkable back in those harrowing days of his medically-induced coma, the former St. Anselm golfer from Andover, Mass., gained a legion of new admirers over his incredible story.
Just afford him some time to digest it all, because Mottola was overwhelmed by the support and the grueling challenge at the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship at the Country Club of Birmingham in Alabama. For the record, Mottola and teammate Daniel Koerner of Pepperell, Mass., shot 71 on the West Course, 73 on the East Course, and failed to qualify for match play.
Toss that aside, though. The qualifier that matters happened years ago when Mottola breezed through as a miracle. He’s been a champion to hundreds of friends ever since 2014 when he first started suffering sharp pains.