The moment was incredible.
You’d think it would have been a bit overwhelming for a struggling PGA Tour player, one who had never won before — anywhere.
But there stood Keith Mitchell, ranked 162nd in the world, with nearly 16 feet between him and glory. Two putts seemed more likely with a playoff no one in their right mind would want — a duel with Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler for the Honda Classic title the most likely scenario.
Mitchell stood over his birdie putt on the 18th green, all 15 1/2 feet of it. He knew exactly where he stood and he was staring down the left-to-right breaker, not typically what you’d want with everything on the line.
“My mind started to wander but then I just focused on what the putt was doing,” Mitchell explained after he put the perfect stroke on it and watched it track dead-center into the hole. A closing birdie for 67 and a winning nine-under par total on a day when 20-25 mile per hour winds played havoc with nearly everyone.
Mitchell proved the old saying that it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. He started bogey-bogey but birdied four of the final seven holes to avoid that potential playoff with the two big guns — Koepka and Fowler.
“To have my name up there ahead of theirs is an honor,” Mitchell was quick to point out. “Those guys are awesome!”
It was awesome how Mitchell overcame his sloppy start.
“I’ve been close (to winning) before,” he explained. “But I let my emotions take over. I said I’m not going to let that happen again.”
This was one of those crazy afternoons where there were so many players in contention, that a playoff seemed the most likely scenario.
Ryan Palmer went out early and shot 29 over his first nine holes. He missed from six feet at the 18th for 62 but still posted seven-under and knew he was three hours ahead of the final group.
Later former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover birdied the 18th, shot 66, and joined Palmer at seven-under in the wait-line.
By late afternoon, it was a contenders’ roll call — Wyndham Clark (overnight leader), elderly Vijay Singh, Fowler, Koepka, K.H. Lee and of course, the underdog’s underdog — Mitchell.
Wyndham couldn’t handle the back-nine pressure and Singh took himself out of it with a water ball on 17. Lee couldn’t get it done while Fowler and Koepka both birdied the 72nd hole to end the long wait for Palmer and Glover.
Rickie and Brooks, sitting at eight-under, watched Mitchell park his final drive in the left-side bunkers at 18. Lay-up city. Mitchell left himself 129 yards for his third and with that shot coming up nearly 16 feet short, this one smelled of playoff.
That final putt was pure clutch for the former Georgia Bulldog who now lives at St. Simon’s Island along with a bunch of other tour players.
Now Mitchell can afford to upgrade his island home if he wants.
He didn’t have a top 10 this season coming into PGA National.
He had only three top 10s last year.
His tour earnings were just north of $2 million.
But those 15 1/2 feet lifted him to new status.
Winner.
A win for underdogs everywhere.
6 Comments
baxter cepeda
Mitchell has been more of an underachiever than an underdog based on admitting to overpartying earlier in life.
This was the most entertaining Honda I can remember. It’s rare and super entertaining anytime early and late Sunday finishers all have a chance.
But the story once again is terrible rules officiating from the pga tour.
I remember watching that bunker situation and wondering if anyone was going to be dumb enough to call that a penalty.
There was.
It was close to a rules infraction and the tv folks are saying that somehow this rule was followed correctly. I beg to disagree but if I’m wrong, it’s only because the pga tour messed up the perfectly fine original rule against caddies lining up, with their terrible interpretation just a few weeks ago at Scottsdale.
It’s simple:
for it to be a penalty there needs to be intention to line up and/or the caddie needs to be actually standing behind the player as they are addressing the actual ball (probably actually looking up the line of play).
I have been all for this no lining up rule, but have also encouraged rules makers to remove as many insignificant rules from golf which enable taddle tellers —a growing bunch— as possible.
By allowing flags for putting, removing anti grounding rules, and other such rules they have successfully squashed a lot of potential he said, she said dramas.
But the caddie rule, which really is simple, seems to be really confuse the old dogs runnning rules for the pga tour.
Either fire the established rules guys or spell it out so even they get it.
Also, pace of play rulings are still an issue as we saw with Schwartzel treating a rules man like I treat apple and sprint customer service reps when something goes wrong.
The masters champ was playing with one of the most notorious slow men in golf. Golf needs a shot clock. That shot clock masters proved to even lower average scores.
Lower.
While the new rules in golf have shortened some things, the rules makers really missed the key to “modernizing” rules: picking up pace and avoiding anyone, much less professionals, misenterpreting rules.
Tom Edrington
I find it interesting that a bunch of women on the LPGA Tour had their caddies line them up and there hasn’t been one penalty on that tour since the new rule came out.
baxter cepeda
Super interestingly weird.
These guys give no penalties for decades and then Do it twice for this if all things. And interpreted incorrectly no less imo.
It just makes them look terrible at their jobs and with seemingly no consequence.
I really do not think this is a USGa rna issue, it’s a pga tour issue.
Tom Edrington
They keep telling us about the “intent” part of all these infractions……did the player gain an advantage? Did he intentionally do so? That’s what needs to be considered in something like the sand trap “alleged” lineup penalty.
baxter cepeda
Rules officials should just do what they have always done…nothing.
Tom Edrington
Thing I notice is that things are really quiet on the LPGA Tour, as we’ve discussed before and less controversy on the European tour….