Keith Mitchell celebrates as he sinks his putt on the 18th hole to win the Honda Classic on Sunday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Mitchell, a Chattanooga native who played for Baylor School and the University of Georgia, earned his first PGA Tour victory, holding off Rickie Fowler and Brooks Koepka for a one-stroke win.
Keith Mitchell fist-bumps a group of children as he heads to the 10th tee during the final round of the Honda Classic on Sunday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Keith Mitchell, right, celebrates with his caddie, Pete Persolija, after making a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the Honda Classic on Sunday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Keith Mitchell’s first and, until Sunday, only win as a professional golfer happened three years ago on something called the G Pro Tour.
As is the case with mini-tour life, hardly anybody was watching and hardly anybody noticed. He earned $5,600.
Those days are long gone. The 27-year-old Chattanooga native, a former Baylor School and University of Georgia standout, gave himself a raise and a promotion at the Honda Classic.
After 97 tries on the PGA Tour, the Web.com Tour and even the Latinoamerica Tour, Mitchell is finally a winner at the highest level of the sport – and he had to outslug two of the game’s best players for that long-awaited victory. A birdie on the par-5 18th of the Champions Course at PGA National capped Mitchell’s one-stroke win as he held off Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler.
With the breakthrough victory, Mitchell earned 500 FedEx Cup points, $1,224,000 and some major job security, a fact he emphasized in his news conference afterward.