Mitchell’s symbol of hard work, success is watch for father

ORLANDO: Two days after his first US PGA Tour victory, Keith Mitchell (pic) still had not checked his bank account to see if his Honda Classic earnings of more than US$1.2mil (RM4.9mil) had cleared.

That’s about US$400,000 (RM1.6mil) less than when he earned his entire rookie season.

Just don’t expect him to go on any shopping spree.

And to hear Mitchell talk on Tuesday, he is more inclined to spend it on someone else.

Mitchell was asked about the biggest thing he has ever bought for himself since joining the PGA Tour, and he mentioned a watch for his father.

There’s a story behind that.

“When my grandfather passed away, he gave his watch,” Mitchell said.

“It was cool because my dad had given my grandfather that watch when he got out of medical school. It was like a ‘thank you’ to him.

“I felt like me getting on Tour was like me graduating med school.

“So I got him a similar watch – same style, different colour.”

What kind of watch?

Mitchell smiled and said: “I’ll leave that out.”

He said his father always figured he would go the education route instead of professional golf, mainly because Mitchell’s father worked hard through medical school and saw what kind of opportunities it provided.

“It was tough for him to grasp the whole golf world, because he played golf for fun,” Mitchell said.

Golf is working out pretty well for Mitchell, who earned a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour along with a spot in the Masters next month, which will be his first Major.

And he has a college degree from Georgia. Mitchell was one semester short when he finished his senior season with the Bulldogs and had thought about turning pro after the NCAA Championship.

Instead, he went back and finished up his degree.

“I never wanted to say there’s a Plan B,” he said, referring to his diploma.

“If you know there’s a Plan B, you don’t put as much effort on Plan A.

“It was just two months. I knew if I didn’t do it, I’d look back on it forever.

“It was two months out of my life at age 22.”

So what does he plan to do with his Honda earnings?

“I always wanted to buy my mom a car,” he said.

“She helped me get my first car. But Honda gave me the keys to a new Honda. I might go that route.”