Four days after suffering one of the most painful finishes on a golf course of 2017, Keith Mitchell had arguably the year’s biggest bounceback. Mitchell, this year’s bubble boy when it came to earning a PGA Tour card through the Web.com Tour’s regular season money list, opened with a Thursday 65 to grab the early lead at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, the first event of the Web.com Tour Finals.
“It’s just motivation,” Mitchell told Web.com Tour’s Kevin Prise after his round when asked about his mindset after last week. “It’s really tough what I went through, what we went through. But the more you put yourself in those situations, the better you’re going to handle yourself next time. You can’t really prepare for that, you can’t practice for that, so I’m really excited to get that under my belt. Hopefully, I’m stronger and tougher now and we can use that experience in the Web Finals and in the rest of my career.”
Mitchell was paired with Roberto Diaz, who wound up earning the coveted 25th card when Mitchell parred the final two holes of last week’s WinCo Foods Portland Open in disappointing fashion.