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Adam Mitchell has been dominant on the Southern junior golf circuit the last year or so, but the word among some of the upper-level college coaches recruiting the McCallie senior was that they wanted to see if he could perform at a higher level.

On Wednesday, Mitchell did just that.

Playing in his first major amateur tournament, Mitchell matched par 72 at The Honors Course and was one of the early leaders in the Southern Amateur. The solid round continues the stretch of excellent play that started in June, when Mitchell shot a 12-under-par 60 at the AJGA Bubba Conlee and won the tournament with a three-day total of 19 under par. A week later, Mitchell finished tied for second in the Southern Junior Amateur and ever since, he’s become a marked man on the junior circuit. Not so on Wednesday. Teeing it up against college players and talented mid-amateurs from around the country, Mitchell enjoyed his relative anonymity.

 “I was definitely in the underdog role today,” Mitchell said. “None of these people know who I am. But it was time to test my game in a tournament like this. I’m going to be playing against college players next year. I might as well get used to it.”

Mitchell, who has been on a tear since he began working with Huntsville, Alabama based sports psychologist Charles Plott a year ago, hasn’t decided on a college choice yet. “And if I had, I don’t know if I’d tell anyone yet,” he said. But if he continues his play, chances are good he’ll have his pick.

On Wednesday, he played with the poise of a much older player, getting around The Honors fairly unscathed, save for a double bogey at the par-5 11^th hole. He also made a couple of bogeys at No. 5 and 13, but offset each miscue with a quarter of birdies.

Mitchell made three birdies on the front, at Nos. 2, 6, and 9, and turned at 2-under-par. The double at 11 and bogey at 13 derailed him for a time, but he rallied, booming a drive on the par-5 17^th that left him within easy reach of the green. He two-putted for a birdie.

Mitchell was appreciative of his pairing. He teed off in the first group, at 7:30 a.m., but wasn’t sure who his playing partners were. While on the putting green, he saw former Baylor star and current Middle Tennessee State player Josh Nelms.

“Who are you playing with?” Mitchell asked Nelms.

“You,” Nelms said.

“I was glad to get to play with Josh,” Mitchell said. “That really gave me a comfort level out there.”