The Honda Classic
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Playing out of the penultimate twosome, second-round co-leader and World No. 162 Keith Mitchell walked off with birdie on the 72nd hole from 15'6" en route to a 3-under-par 35-32=67 in Sunday’s final round on PGA National’s Champion Course to post 9-under 271, up one spot on the day and good for a one-shot victory over runners-up Brooks Koepka (66) and 2017 champ Rickie Fowler (67).
Ryan Palmer wrapped with a week-low 63 (out of the 21st-to-last twosome) and Lucas Glover shot 66 out of the ninth-to-last twosome to share 4th place, two in arrears.
Mitchell, 27, was a pre-tourney 200/1 outright and bags his first PGA TOUR title in 40 events, eclipsing a previous-best 2nd at the opposite-field Corales Championship (Dominican Republic) in March of last year. He records his first top-10 finish since T7 at the 2018 John Deere Classic 15 starts ago.
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The Georgia alum (2014) is playing his second consecutive season on TOUR after finishing 67th in the FedExCup standings after last season’s rookie campaign, where he progressed to the 3rd leg of the Playoffs and bowed out after a T45 at the BMW Championship.
Honda Form: 1-MC
This was his second Honda after a missed cut last year by four (as an alternate) on 9-over 149 (71-78).
Season Form: 1-MC-MC-73-MC-16-MC-65-14-22
The Tennessee native improves to 6-for-10 on the season with four top 25s, supplanting a previous-best T14 at the no-cut CJ CUP (Korea) back in October.
He checked in this week off three missed cuts in his last four starts, including by three in his last start at the Genesis two weeks ago (73-72), sprinkling in a 73rd- and last-place finish at the WM Phoenix Open (74-67-74-74).
Quote after R2 (as co-leader): “I love Bermuda (grass). I’m sorry, I hate poa annua so much I can’t see straight. Thankfully the first event back on Bermuda. I’m playing every Bermuda event we’ve got this year.”
Final Leaderboard (pre-tourney odds outright):
1- (-9, 271) Keith Mitchell (200/1)
2- (-8, 272) Brooks Koepka (12/1)
2- (-8, 272) Rickie Fowler (10/1)
4- (-7, 273) Ryan Palmer (100/1)
4- (-7, 273) Lucas Glover (50/1)
Notes:
- Repeat top-10 finishers from last year: NONE
- Repeat top 10s in the event: Vijay Singh, 6th this year; finished T6 on last visit in 2016. He also won the 1999 edition at TPC Heron Bay in Coral Springs, FL.
- 200/1: Padraig Harrington (2015) and Michael Thompson (2013) were also 200/1 outright winners.
- 7/1: Mitchell’s outright odds entering the final round
- Thru 18 events this season, Mitchell is the fifth player to MC in start prior and then win in his next start, joining: J.B. Holmes (Genesis); Phil Mickelson (AT&T Pro-Am); Adam Long (Desert Classic); Charles Howell III (RSM).
After kicking off with 68-66-70, Mitchell began T2, one back of leader and TOUR rookie Wyndham Clark.
He landed 10 (of 14) fairways and 13 greens in regulation, posting 2.020 SG: Approach-the-Green, 2.362 SG: Tee-to-Green, and 1.452 SG: Putting with 28 total putts.
The St. Simons Island, Georgia, resident got off to a horrid start, squaring back-to-back bogey-5s out of the gate at 1 and 2 (3-putt from 55’2”), now trailing by four, and dropped one more at 11, but outflanked them with six circles at 3, 9, 12, 13, 15 and 18, three from between 11 and 18 feet.
He first touched the lead in the final round with birdie-3 at 13, now tied with Palmer and Glover (both in), and then with birdie-2 at 15, took a one-shot lead over Palmer, Glover, Koepka (3-under thru 17), and Vijay Singh (1-under thru 14).
After two routine pars at 16 and 17, Mitchell arrived to the par-5 finisher tied with clubhouse leaders Koepka and Fowler. Being bunkered off the tee, he chose/was forced to make it a 3-shotter, and set up the clincher after hitting his third from 129 yards out to 15’6”.
For the week, Mitchell tallied 16 birdies against seven bogeys and ranked No. 1 in SG: TTG (11.917).
How Mitchell Won the Tournament:
Ranked 1st (or T1) in: No Double Bogeys (or worse); Par-3 Scoring; SG: Tee-to-Green
Ranked 2nd (or T2) in: Birdie to Bogey Ratio; Scrambling
Note: See “Strokes Gained Leaders Stats” at the bottom, along with his full stats.
Career:
Starts: 40
Cuts Made: 28 (60.0%)
Top 25s: 11 (27.5%)
Top 10s: 5 (12.5%)
Top 3s: 3 (7.5%)
Wins: 1 (2.5%)
3
This was his third career top-3 finish and now has the win, a 2nd (2018 Corales) and a 3rd (T3, 2018 AT&T Byron Nelson).
1
Mitchell claims his first win across any of the PGA TOUR circuits, totaling 97 events.
He played two seasons on the Web.com Tour (2016, 2017) and recorded eight top 10s in 43 starts (best of 3rd place), and made his way to the main stage after finishing 21st in the Priority Rankings after 2017.
Mitchell began on the PGA TOUR Latinoamerica in 2015 and finished in the top 10 five times in 14 starts with one runner-up.
He made his TOUR debut at the 2017 Valspar as an open-qualifier and World No. 658, and finished T11 on 6-under 278 (69-70-71-68).
Draw:
A total of 83 pros from a field of 144 pros made the 36-hole cut of 2-over 142:
39 (of 72) EARLY/late
44 (of 70) LATE/early; 1 WD (Peter Uihlein); 1 DQ (Alex Cejka)
70 players made the secondary 54-hole cut of 2-over 212:
11 players finished in the top 10:
EARLY/late (5):
Brooks Koepka (T2); Vijay Singh (6th); Wyndham Clark (T7); Jim Furyk (T9); Jason Kokrak (T9)
LATE/early (6):
Keith Mitchell (Won); Rickie Fowler (T2); Ryan Palmer (T4); Lucas Glover (T4); Kyoung-Hoon Lee (T7); Sergio Garcia (T9)
9
9 (of 18) tourneys so far this season with a traditional draw:
Winners:
EARLY/late: 4
LATE/early: 5 (Mitchell)
Strength of Field:
With a Strength of Field rating of 298 (down 77 from last year), Mitchell banks 48.00 world-ranking points and leapfrogs 94 spots in the Official World Golf Ranking.
OWGR: 68th (up 94); career high
He earns a two-year exemption on TOUR, a host of invites, including to this year’s Masters (his first), and 500 FEC points, vaulting 85 places in the standings.
FEC: 17th (up 85); career high
Note: Mitchell is in the published field at this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he’ll be making his tourney debut.
Mitchell’s Position by Round:
R1: T20 (4 back)
R2: T1
R3: T2 (1 back)
Note: Mitchell is the first 36-hole leader/co-leader to win this event since Harrington in 2015, who was also a pre-tourney 200/1 outright.
Leader/co-leaders by Round:
R1: Jhonattan Vegas (finished T16): Drops to 0-for-4 as 18-hole leader/co-leader
R2: Sungjae Im (T51): Drops to 0-for-1 as 36-hole leader/co-leader
R2: Keith Mitchell (Won): Improves to 1-for-1
R3: Wyndham Clark (T7): Drops to 0-for-1 as 54-hole leader/co-leader
Runners-Up:
Brooks Koepka (67-69-70-66): Playing his first Honda since a MC by nine in 2017 (71-78), the Jupiter, Florida, resident records his first top 25 in five tries (T26/2016).
Honda Form: 2-MC-26-51-33
He posts his fourth top 25 of the season in five starts and second top 10, joining his win at THE CJ CUP back in October (his season-opener) as the 54-hole leader.
Season Form: 2-27-24-16-1
Note: This was Koepka’s first tourney of the season with a cut, arriving off a T27 at last week’s WGC in Mexico (73-70-69-69).
OWGR: 3rd (up 1)
FEC: 8th (up 9)
Overall, the 28-year-old bags his seventh career runner-up and 15th top-3 finish.
Career:
Starts: 109
Wins: 5
2nd: 7
3rd: 3
Rickie Fowler: (67-72-66-67): This was the Jupiter, Florida, resident’s 10th consecutive Honda, sixth top 25 and fourth top 10, first since winning the 2017 edition as the 54-hole leader.
Honda Form: 2-MC-1-6-41-24-13-7-MC-MC
He posts his fourth top 25 of the season in six events and third top 10, joining a win at the WM Phoenix Open (as 54-hole leader) two starts ago, and T4 at the Shriners in his season-opener. The 30-year-old checked in off a T36 at the WGC-Mexico (71-73-68-71).
Season Form: 2-36-1-66-16-4
OWGR: 7th (up 1)
FEC: 6th (up 7)
Overall, this was his 14th career runner-up and 26th top-3 finish:
Career:
Starts: 222
Wins: 5
2nd: 14
3rd: 7
Field Scoring Average:
This was the 47th playing of the Honda, 13th and 13th consecutive at PGA National (Champion):
Par 70 (35-35)
7,125 yards
Cumulative Scoring Average:
R1: 70.90
R2: 71.47
R3: 70.61
R4: 70.81
Total: 71.02
Mitchell: 68-67-70-67
SG: Total: 12.796
Low Rounds:
R1: 64: Jhonattan Vegas
R2: 64: Sungjae Im, Adam Svensson
R3: 65: Vijay Singh
R4: 63: Ryan Palmer
Bogey-free Rounds:
R1: (2): Jhonattan Vegas (64); Sergio Garcia (67)
R2: (1): David Pastore (69_MC)
R3: (1): John Huh (67)
R4: (1): Lucas Bjerregaard (67)
Multiple Bogey-free Rounds: NONE
TOUR Rookies &/or First-Timers:
Rookies: 18
Top-10 finishes: 2
Best finish(es): T7 (x2)
Kyoung-Hoon Lee (67-69-68-71); career best
Season Form: 7-35-25-MC-MC-MC-MC-MC-29-MC-35-61-MC
Wyndham Clark (69-67-67-72); career best
Season Form: 7-10-61-35-18-MC-65-MC-57-54-33
First-timers: 32
Top-10 finishes: 2
Best finish(es): T7 (x2)
(Same as above)
Season Leaders in Top-10 Finishes:
4: Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Marc Leishman, Charles Howell III, Scott Piercy
Consecutive Top 10s on TOUR:
4: Rory McIlroy (2-4-5-4)
2: Lucas Glover (4-7)
2: Wyndham Clark (7-10)
2: Sergio Garcia (9-6)
2: Dustin Johnson (1-9)
2: Si Woo Kim (3-4)
2: Jason Day (4-5)
Consecutive Top-10 Streak ENDED at:
3: Justin Thomas (30-9-2-3)
2: Michael Thompson (16-7-10)
Mitchell’s Weekly Stats (ranking of 70 players):
Birdies: 16 (T12)
Bogeys: 7 (T8)
Double Bogeys: 0 (T1)
Birdie or Better: 22.22% (T12)
Birdie to Bogey Ratio: 2.29 (2nd)
Par-3 Scoring: 2.75 (1st)
Par-4 Scoring: 4.00 (T26)
Par-5 Scoring: 4.38 (T8)
Driving Distance (all drives): 284.0 yards (5th)
Driving Accuracy: 33/56 (T54) at 58.93%
GIR: 45/72 (T22) at 62.50%
Proximity: 39’9” (T51)
Putts per GIR: 1.711 (T18)
Total Putts: 109 (T18)
Putts by Round: 27-27-27-28
Scrambling: 21/27 (T2) at 77.78%
All-Around: (6th)
Leaders in Strokes Gained Stats:
SG: Off-the-Tee:
1. Ryan Palmer (4.694)
2. Kyoung-Hoon Lee (4.325)
3. Zach Johnson (3.646)
4. Kramer Hickok (3.368)
5. Russell Henley (3.269)
12. Keith Mitchell (2.245)
SG: Approach-the-Green:
1. Russell Knox (8.150)
2. Gary Woodland (7.757)
3. Sergio Garcia (7.542)
4. Roberto Castro (7.130)
5. Brooks Koepka (6.653)
7. Keith Mitchell (6.146)
SG: Around-the-Green:
1. Webb Simpson (5.550)
2. Justin Thomas (5.010)
3. Bud Cauley (4.957)
4. Julian Etulain (4.761)
5. Patrick Rodgers (4.682)
6. Keith Mitchell (3.525)
SG: Putting:
1. Billy Horschel (9.358)
2. Wyndham Clark (8.774)
3. Michael Thompson (8.467)
4. Brian Gay (7.740)
5. Nick Taylor (6.556)
38. Keith Mitchell (0.878)
SG: Tee-to-Green:
1. Keith Mitchell (11.917)
2. Sergio Garcia (10.448)
3. Kyoung-Hoon Lee (8.888)
4. Vijay Singh (8.452)
5. Jason Kokrak (8.428)
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Season Winners (18):
7 winners were in their 20s (Mitchell age: 27)
8 were in their 30s
3 were in their 40s
26
It’s been 26 events since the last pre-tourney fave/co-fave won on TOUR.
Most Recent:
Dustin Johnson (11/2): 2018 RBC Canadian Open
Justin Thomas: For a second week in a row, the 25-year-old was the pre-tourney fave, this time a 5/1 outright as defending champ. Battling through wrist, arm and shoulder injuries that he suffered while hitting a tree with his club during R1, he finished T30 on even-par 280 (68-74-67-71), down one spot in R4.
Honda Form: 30-1-MC-3-MC
That snaps a streak of three straight top-10 finishes on arrival.
Season Form: 30-9-2-3-16-3-36-5
OWGR: 4th (down 1)
FEC: 5th (up 1)
