Mitchell holes out for 2-shot lead at Valspar

PALM HARBOR, FLA. >> 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 onehopped into the hole for eagle and a 5 under and a two-shot lead in the Valspar Championship.

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.

“When I looked up, something kind of flew in my eye, so I kind of looked away and never saw it come down and land,” he said. “But I knew ... when I hit it, I was pleased with the contact.”

The 18th green is elevated, and the pin was up front behind a deep bunker, so he wouldn’t have been able to see it go in the hole, anyway. He could hear the crowd, and there was pleasant surprise on his face he couldn’t hide.