Mitchell battles to lead at PGA's Valspar NFL
Keith Mitchell capped off a magnificent run through the “Snake Pit” at Innisbrook on Saturday with a shot he never saw go in. His 7-iron from the 18th fairway one-hopped into the hole for eagle and a 5 under and a two-shot lead in the Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, Fla.
Mitchell was among a dozen players on the fringe of contention at a tournament so tight that it began with all 77 players who made the cut separated by a mere six shots.
That changed when he went 3-2-2 through the closing stretch of the Copperhead course, the first player to do that in tournament history. Mitchell holed a birdie putt just inside 15 feet on the 16th hole, hit 6-iron to inside 3 feet for birdie on the par-3 17th and then holed out on the 18th hole with a 7-iron from about 151 yards up a steep hill.
That puts Mitchell at 10-under 203, two shots clear of Mackenzie Hughes (69), Seamus Power (68) and Peter Malnati (68).
Mitchell knew the shot was good, but something flew into his eye as he followed the flight, causing him to look away and wipe away the speck. Then he heard a loud cheer, looked up and realized the ball had gone in for a most unlikely eagle.
Stewart Cink, who began the third round in a five-way tie for the lead, shot 41 on the back nine for a 76, taking him from the lead to nine shots behind.
SHIN GRABS SHARE OF SERI PAK CHAMPIONSHIP >> Jiyai Shin — the 35-yearold South Korean star who last played a full LPGA Tour schedule in 2013 — shot a bogey-free 8-under 63 to grab an unlikely share of the lead in the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship
after a windy afternoon at Palos Verdes Golf Club.
She vaulted into the top spot hours later after she finished when defending champion Ruoning Yin closed with a triple bogey.
Stanford's Rose Zhang, who was two shots back after back-to-back 63s in the first two rounds, fell eight shots behind the lead after a 76.
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Brazil's Thiago Seyboth Wild stunned American Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round.
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