Keith Mitchell needed a two-putt on the par-4 18th to take the Sanderson Farms Championship to the extra hole with Bo Hosler and Kevin Yu.
However, on the 18th hole, he made a three-putt for bogey and finished T-3 at 22 under.
It hurts when you lose alone, but when someone else loses 3 putt It has to be painful to get eliminated from the playoffs.
“The first putt seemed to come off the face well,” he said of his first putt, which he hit on No. 18. I thought it was broken. ”
“I think it broke on the left side. It almost broke right up the hill. I played it on far left or in left center, but it didn't go in.”
Mitchell struggled with his putter. He averaged two putts per green in regulation. The former Georgia Bulldog lost 1.674 shots in strokes gained putt in that final round as well.
But that hasn't been the case all week. Through all four rounds, he had a stroke gained putt of 5.602, ranking 11th in the field.
Mitchell is usually a good shot off the tee, but this week he had just .634 strokes gained off the tee.
“I wasn't at my best on the back nine,” Mitchell said after his round.
“I think the only fairway I hit was on the 18th. In the end, it wasn't the best. I'm disappointed that it ended with a three-putt. I think I grinded all the way to the end and gave the first putt a really good chance. I felt it.”
He and Hossler fought all day. Mitchell had three birdies on the front nine and another on the par-4 12th. A birdie on No. 12 gave him the lead, but Hossler and Yu refused to break away.
Despite hitting only one fairway on the back nine, the 32-year-old remained in contention until the final hole.
“I was just trying to stay in this situation. I had the putt to win and I played really well at the back,” he said. “Unfortunately, I hit it a little too hard, so I thought it would break a little at the end, but it didn't. Long story short, I'm glad I was able to play 71 and a half holes.”
The minor accident on the 18th rarely happens to these top athletes, but it does happen from time to time. Golf can give it to the best players.
But Mitchell has been gaining momentum this fall. He entered this week at T-12 at the Wyndham Championship and placed 12th alone at the Pro Core Championship.
This T-3 finish marks his best finish of the season and could come at the perfect time for him. Before this finish, he had only three top-10 finishes and 11 top-25 finishes in 2024.
Mitchell wants to improve his FedEx Cup rankings as much as possible. If he continues to play this well, the 2019 Honda Classic winner could potentially compete in a signature event or two.
He should move up six spots from 72nd to 66th in the FedEx Cup fall rankings. Mitchell must finish within the top 60 to qualify for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational Signature Event.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough On all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirls Instagram @golf_girl_sl.
