For the whole of Saturday’s third round at Innisbrook in the 2024 Valspar Championship, it appeared as though three, five, or possibly more players may share the lead going into Sunday. However, that narrative was abruptly ended by PGA Tour veteran Keith Mitchell.
Mitchell was tied for the lead at eight under with three other players—Seamus Power, Mackenzie Hughes, and Peter Malnati—with one hole remaining to play late on Saturday night.
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All that remained for Mitchell to negotiate was the challenging 417-yard, par-4 18th hole on the Copperhead Course, with its narrow fairway surrounded by bunkers on both sides and a similarly fortified green ahead.
A par would entail sharing the lead while you sleep. A birdie would put him alone atop the 54-hole leaderboard. Mitchell performed one better.
The 32-year-old had 151 yards remaining to the pin after skillfully lacing a wood off the tee 266 yards down the fairway. After taking out a wedge, he launched his ball into the air and observed as it came down a foot away from the flag and fell squarely in the cup’s bottom.
Mitchell didn’t actually watch it. He bowed his head and scratched his eye as if something had flown into it after his swing, watching as his ball soared toward the green. He seemed shocked for a split second when someone told him the good news, but then he and his caddie began to rejoice.
