Mitchell ready for Lefty’s payback
BEACH, Calif. – Keith Mitchell needs to be sharp this week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and it has nothing to do with his game. Phil Mickelson is in the field. Retribution could come when Mitchell least expects it because Mickelson never forgets.
This stems from the Wells Fargo Championship last year, when Mitchell went to change shoes for his pro-am round only to find Mickelson asleep on the bench in front of his locker.
Mitchell posted a picture of the unusual moment, along with options on how he should handle it. Those included waking up the five-time major champion, playing the pro-am in tennis shoes or having a loud conversation to stir him. Mitchell included the hashtag “44-1” to indicate their career victories.
The Instagram post was picked up by national networks the next day. Mickelson wasn’t happy.
“He’s holding that over me. He’s going to crush me,” Mitchell said. “I think he’s mentioned to some people his idea, but they’ve been tight-lipped. I heard he’s good.”
Mitchell, a 28-year-old from Tennessee in his third year on the PGA Tour, is no slouch.
Just ask Andy Pazder, the chief tournament and competitions officer at the tour who spent two years trying to get back at Mitchell before giving up.
It goes back to Mitchell’s debut on the PGA Tour in the fall of 2017.
He had a card locked up and was playing the Web.com Tour Championship, which was delayed at least one day, maybe two, because of a hurricane in Florida. Mitchell was to start his rookie season the next week in California, and he wouldn’t have time for a practice round if he stayed to the end. So he notified officials and withdrew.
Two days later, Mitchell was playing his first practice round as a PGA Tour member with close friend Harris English when Ross Berlin, head of player relations, approached in a cart. Berlin introduced himself, handed Mitchell an envelope and told him he was being fined because withdrawing was considered conduct unbecoming a professional.
“I have no leg to stand on,” Mitchell said. “It’s my first day on tour and I sit there and say, ‘Yes, sir.’ I don’t argue. I open it and it’s a blank sheet of paper. Harris is behind me filming the whole thing. I was about to punch Ross, and I didn’t even know him. Pazder hears about this and starts bragging about the pranks he’s pulled. “That’s what teed me up,” Mitchell said. “That’s when I put a target on his back.”
A few months later, Mitchell was invited to take part in a charity function and Pazder offered him a ride back on the PGA Tour plane. As the jet was cleared for takeoff, Mitchell struck a look of panPEBBLE ic as he touched the back of his pants and announced he had left his wallet behind. Pazder rushed toward the cockpit and asked the pilots if they could go back to the terminal. Mitchell smiled at him and slowly removed his wallet. Gotcha.
At the Memorial that year, Pazder invited Mitchell and other rookies to a dinner at Hyde Park, a popular steak restaurant. That was nice, except Mitchell had a sponsor value program to attend. He figured Pazder knew that before asking. Mitchell finished his obligations and wound up going to Hyde Park, seated a few tables away from the rookie group.
“I text Ross and said, ‘Stall for just a second.’ I get the waiter over and send a ‘Happy 70th Birthday, Andy’ cake over to him,” Mitchell said. “The whole place is singing ‘Happy 70th Birthday’ to him. So he sends the bill over to me as a joke.”
Mitchell paid for the entire dinner of rookies and tour officials. Pazder, mortified, tried to tell the waiter he was kidding. Too late. The bill had been paid.
“Next thing you know, Pazder grabs a wine cork and throws it across the table at me,” Mitchell said.