US Open contender slept in his car for a year and a half and could now win £3.4m prize

He's on the verge of making the cut at the US Open. But it hasn't all been plain saiing for Willie Mack III, who has spoken about how he lived in a car for a year and a half while chasing his dreams.

Mack III first turned pro in 2011, but it's taken a long time for him to make it to a major. He's now in competition with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Tony Finau, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, to name but a few.

But the 35-year-old's career hasn't always looked so bright. A Flint, Michigan native, Mack III learned how to play the game with his father from around the age of six before finally turning pro after graduating from Bethune-Cookman 13 years ago. It was in his first year as a pro that Willie admits he was living in his two-door Ford Mustang due to money being tight while playing tournament to tournament, trying to make a name for himself. 

Speaking to Golf.com he said: "So when I first turned pro, the first year, I won the money list on the Florida Pro Tour. I was playing good.

"It was the last year you could go right to the PGA Tour through Q-School, and I missed final stage by two strokes. And then after that, I don’t know if I kind of thought it was easy because I was playing so good, but things just started going the other direction.

"Money was just low. At that time, I was making money to get to the other spots, but when you start playing bad on those mini tours and you don’t have any sponsors, I think that’s when things kind of get stretched and things like that."

Mack III also admitted that nobody knew he was living in a car at the time, as he didn't want to tell anyone out of embarrassment. He added: "So if I had a tournament, I got to the course kind of earlier and took a shower. Nobody knew I was doing it, either.

"I would have some good finishes and still stay in the car. But people — at the time, I just thought it was embarrassing. But that’s all I had to try and get by. I’m sure there’s people that people don’t know what they’re going through and doing things you’d never expect.

"It was just I would play a tournament, go get some food — I would actually practice more because I just didn’t want to get back in the car. I would go to the mall a lot and just walk around, things to not be in the car. And then play a tournament and do it all again tomorrow."

He went on: "At this point, the older I am, I must have loved golf — a lot — to even go through that. Probably more than I thought. Yeah, just never giving up. In those days, my mom and my dad, they sacrificed a lot for me to play in tournaments. I feel like just not giving up was the only option."

Speaking on Willie's journey back in November 2022, his father, Willie Mack II told the media how proud he was of his son's accomplishments despite the adversities he had faced while chasing a dream. He also spoke of the sacrifices that he and his wife had made to allow him to get to where he is today.

Mack II said: "He's had a journey sleeping in his car for a year and a half. Putting my house in foreclosure twice, and so you don't mind doin those things for your child when they're doing something positive. He was doing something very great for himself."

He added: "I've always told him if you believe in something, your dreams, just never give up. And he hasn't."

Mack III is surrently tied at 34 at Pinehurst No. 2 on a score of plus 1 - alongside the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Jason Day and Ricky Fowler - and looks to make the cut of 60 going into the weekend's championship. In the event he goes all the way in North Carolina, he'll pocket a cool £3.4m in prize money.