Keith Mitchell walked off the course at the 2020 U.S. Open having done something no one had ever done before. And it wasn’t exactly the kind of history you’d expect from a guy who eventually signed for a 70.
Mitchell started his round on the back nine at Winged Foot and things went sideways fast. A double bogey on his first hole. Four bogeys in his next six. He turned in 41, sitting 6-over par for the tournament. It looked like another long day for a guy trying to keep his head above water at a major.
Then the front nine happened.
Front nine: 29. Back nine: 41. Same round.
Mitchell birdied Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 9. He also eagled the par-4 5th. That gave him a 29 on the front side, good for a 12-shot swing from his opening nine. According to Justin Ray of The Athletic, Mitchell is now the first player in U.S. Open history to shoot 40 or worse on one nine and break 30 on the other in the same round.
Seven players have shot 29 for a nine-hole score at the national championship. Mitchell just joined that group. But none of them had the kind of split round he put together.
The guy went from looking like he might miss the cut to suddenly being very much in the mix. It’s the kind of bounceback that turns a forgettable round into one people talk about years later. Provided he keeps it going.
What it means going forward
Mitchell isn’t the leader after day one. There are guys ahead of him on the board. But rounds like that build momentum fast. If he can avoid the kind of blowup that cost him on the back nine, he’s got a real shot at making noise over the weekend.
The field at this thing is loaded. Someone’s probably going to do something else historic before it’s all over. That’s just how U.S. Opens work. But nobody’s been this extreme in a single round before.
Mitchell started the day on the back nine and it nearly buried him. He ended it with a piece of history and a chance to keep playing. Not bad for a round that started with a double bogey.
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