[Photo: Andrew Redington]
As he stood on the practice range with Rory McIlroy, laughing and joking during the opening morning’s fog delay at the US Open, Keith Mitchell had no idea he was about to make history at Shinnecock Hills. Many hours later, he was the owner of one of the strangest scorecards ever signed at the renowned New York course.
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After starting at the 10th hole and labouring to a six-over-par 41 for his first nine, Mitchell produced an incredible turnaround, with four birdies and an eagle to shoot a six-under 29 that tied the 126-year-old championship’s record for a low nine-hole score. Better yet, no one had ever shot 29 on Shinnecock’s front nine, and Mitchell’s comeback gave him a 70 that put him into the top 15 as the afternoon wave continued play.
Mitchell, a one-time winner on the PGA Tour, started with a quick hook with his opening tee shot and a chip that rolled off the green; that led to an opening double-bogey. It didn’t get much better with four more bogeys to follow, and when Mitchell tapped in for par at the 18th, he’d shot 41.
Then things quickly changed.
The first hole at Shinnecock is the definition of a ‘handshake’ opening hole. A wide fairway sits below the tee, welcoming whichever long iron a player chooses to hit. It doesn’t require a driver. Unless you are already six-over-par and in need of a spark.
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Fuelled by some morning frustrations, Mitchell reached for his driver. His ball carried 335 yards (306 metres) and found the fairway just steps from the front edge of the green. A short pitch and a putt later and Mitchell’s score was finally headed in the right direction.
He followed with another birdie on the third and again at the fourth. Another huge drive on the par-5 fifth set up a chance to take on the green and Mitchell obliged with an approach from 208 metres that came to rest pin-high, just 12 feet from the hole. The putt dropped for an eagle and Mitchell was now, amazingly, just one-over-par.
Pars followed at the sixth, the tricky par-3 seventh and the eighth hole. However, it seemed almost inevitable as the 34-year-old played up to the ninth green, that the idea of getting back to level-par for the day was within reach.
A 159-metre approach landed in the middle of the green and rolled out to nine feet below the hole, and Mitchell’s opportunity to finish where he started was one putting stroke away. And it never looked anywhere else. Mitchell dropped the putt right in the middle of the hole and finished off a second nine of 29, becoming the seventh player in US Open history to shoot do so.
The day that started with smiles and laughs on the range, finished in the same manner on the ninth green at Shinnecock. A historic comeback.
