Trae Cassell laughs a bit when he calls himself the can’t-miss kid who missed in a brief pro golf career after graduating from Clayton State College in Georgia.

“I turned pro out of college and tried to go play mini-tour golf, and it took less than six months for me to realize that I can’t eat three meals a day at McDonald’s because that’s all I could afford,” Cassell said.

Now 55 and having regained his amateur status in the late 2010s, Cassell has rediscovered both his love for golf and his ability to play at a high level. All of that will lead him to the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship in San Antonio next week. It’s his first appearance in the U.S. Senior Amateur, which has an age requirement of 55.

“It’s an absolute thrill. Anybody who has ever picked up a golf club has had this dr

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