Keith Mitchell shot to the top of the leaderboard at the Valspar Championship in Miami with a fantastic eagle on the last hole leaving him at 10 under par for the tournament; going into the final day Ireland's Seamus Power, Mackenzie Hughes and Peter Malnati trail Mitchell by two shots
Sunday 24 March 2024 08:26, UK
Keith Mitchell will take a two-shot lead into the final day of the Valspar Championship in Miami.
The American rocketed to the top of the leaderboard after shooting a round of 66, leaving him 10 under par for the tournament and two shots in front of the trailing pack of Ireland's Seamus Power, Mackenzie Hughes and Peter Malnati.
Mitchell's day did not get off to the start he wanted as he bogeyed three of the front nine, albeit mixed with two birdies, but a sensational comeback on the homeward nine put him in pole position heading into day four.
Mitchell's birdie on the 12th shifted him into gear and further birdies on holes 14, 16 and 17 set him up for a fantastic eagle on the last to fire him to the top of the pile.
He became the first golfer in the history of the event to play the Snake Pit (holes 16-18) at four-under.
"Obviously, some luck involved in that, but the good thing is I executed all the shots I wanted to. That's really all I could do," Mitchell said. "I guess I should say if I hit the shots like I hit coming down the stretch tomorrow I'll have a chance.
"Out here with the wind, small greens, small fairways, you can hit good shots and not get rewarded. But all in all, just, it's really all we can control tomorrow."
Power and Malnati shot 68 and overnight co-leader Hughes 69 to share second place on eight under.
Chandler Phillips, Cameron Young and Brendon Todd are one shot further back on seven under for the championship.
Power recorded four birdies against a bogey in his attempt to become the first international winner at Valspar since Paul Casey's back-to-back in 2018 and 2019.
"I haven't really seen much of a leaderboard, don't watch too much of them, but it is tough to get a low one out there," Power said.
"No matter how well you played, it was going to be tough to get much better than four-, five-under, I thought. It's tough to get away from the pack, so it's going to be some guys in with a chance."
One of Friday's co-leaders, Stewart Cink, shot 76 Saturday and dropped to tied 55th at one under.
Watch the conclusion of the Valspar Championship live on Sky Sports on Sunday from 11.30am. You can also stream The Masters live from April 11-14 exclusively on Sky Sports. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, majors and more with NOW.
You can now start receiving messages and alerts for the latest breaking sports news, analysis, in-depth features and videos from our dedicated WhatsApp channel.
Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland
