2021 CJ Cup: Keith Mitchell Dominating Field Through 36 Holes

Keith Mitchell entered this week’s CJ Cup with just one career win in 107 starts on the PGA Tour. But the way he has played through two rounds, it would be no surprise for Mitchell to double his win total on Sunday.

There was absolutely no indication that this would be coming from Mitchell this week. He has made two starts on tour so far early in the season with little to no success.

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At the Sanderson Farms Championship, Mitchell opened with a 73, then shot a 71 in the second round. His even-par total left him outside the cut line in Mississippi.

Last week at the Shriners Children’s Open, Mitchell shot 70 in the first round and 68 in the second. His 4-under total was not good enough to make the weekend, leaving him outside the cut line for a second straight week.

But this week has been a totally different story for Mitchell.

On Thursday, he got hot on the front nine and stayed that way his entire round. It started with a birdie on the par-5 third hole. That was the first of five consecutive birdies that sparked his round. He would shoot a 6-under par 30 on his first nine on Thursday.

On the back nine, Mitchell made four birdies and five pars. It all added up to a 10-under par 62, which left Mitchell just one shot behind Robert Streb through the first round.

Friday, Mitchell was up to much of the same. His second-round front nine included four birdies and an eagle. It added up to a 6-under par 30 once again.

He did suffer his first bogey of the week on the back nine at the par-3 11th hole. But he bounced back with birdies on the 13th and 14th holes.

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Mitchell would close his round with a birdie on the 18th hole. That gave him an 8-under par 64 and a two-round total of 18-under par. He led by five shots when his round finished.

He may very well get his second tour win this week, but no one could have seen Keith Mitchell coming.

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