JACKSON, Miss. — Keith Mitchell finished with a pair of birdies on Saturday for a 7-under 65 and avoided other mistakes that plagued his competitors, giving him a one-shot advance to the final round of the Sanderson Farms Championship. .
At stake for Mitchell, whose only PGA Tour victory came more than five years ago, is the chance to earn a spot in four premium events on the PGA Tour next year.
He holed a birdie putt from just under 40 feet on the 17th hole, then finished with a well-judged lie in the rough to within 6 feet with his final birdie. Mitchell, who was 20-under 196, was one shot ahead of Beau Hossler.
“The putt on 17 was a big bonus,” Mitchell said. “Then I had an accident on the 18th and I hit a big shot. Overall, it was a slow start and the last ten holes I was able to play a little bit.
Eight other players were in the top five.
Hossler and Daniel Berger were tied at 17 under as they approached the turn at the Country Club of Jackson, and it didn’t take much to make the tournament look wide open.
Hossler bogeyed the ninth and suddenly found himself two shots ahead when Berger made his first bogey of the tournament with a three-putt from 30 feet on the 10th, then went into the water on the par-5 11th for another bogey.
Berger, who bogeyed four of the back nine holes — including the par-5s — shot a 71 and was five shots behind.
Hossler looked in complete control until he missed a long green on the par-4 12th, leaving himself with a 4-foot par and shockingly three-putted from there to get a double bogey that took him out of the lead.
He responded with two strong saves and three birdies over his final six holes for a 68 to at least move into the final group with Mitchell.
Asked to rate his game, Hossler replied, “Very, very good, minus about four minutes.”
Kevin Yu went late with two birdies in the third straight 66 and was one in three, two shots back on his way to his first PGA Tour victory. Of the top six players, only Mitchell and former US Open champion Lucas Glover (68) have won on tour.
Mitchell missed the FedEx Cup playoffs and plans to play the fall to see if he can finish in the top 60 to enter the first $20 million signature events at Pebble Beach and Riviera. A win would put him in The Sentry at Kapalua, another $20 million purse, and the Masters.
“He only won once and tried to close the door the second time, which was obviously too difficult for me,” said Mitchell, who is coming off his 2019 Honda Classic victory.
Glover doesn’t put much stock in winning on tour.
“Everybody here is very good and they still have time to win,” Glover said. “All the young guys coming in, it’s like this program is different than it was 20 years ago. But when I come in tomorrow, the nerves are messed up, and knowing how to handle it is different.
“The depth of talent is so deep that there’s going to be a lot of guys who probably aren’t emotional.”
Glover, who won in back-to-back weeks last August, had a 68. He was 16-under 200 with Bud Cauley (67) and Jacob Bridgeman, the rookie they tied for last. Coming out of bogey, Bridgeman hit a stunning 6-iron under the trees and onto the green to avoid another bogey and close by making a 7-foot par putt.
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