Mitchell’s roller-coaster – Keith Mitchell’s Thursday at Shinnecock Hills looked doomed after a double-bogey and an injury-free? no—an uneven first nine. But he stormed back with birdies, the tournament’s first eagle on No. 5, and then a closing run that included a 29 on his front nine—t
The scoreboard might read an even-par 70 for Keith Mitchell, but the way he got there on Thursday at Shinnecock Hills made it feel like the U.S. Open was testing nerves more than skill.
Mitchell’s round came with one defining warning sign early: he started his day on the 10th tee, overshooting the green by 44 yards with his approach. Four shots later, he recorded a disastrous double-bogey 6 and was immediately left in a rough spot.
From there, the first nine stayed unforgiving. Mitchell added four more bogeys and no birdies on his first nine holes, posting a 41 to sit near the bottom of the leaderboard.
Then came the kind of turnaround that golfers chase in practice and rarely get in competition. On his walk back through the course, he scored birdies on Nos. 1, 3, and 4. The surge reached its peak with the tournament’s first eagle on No. 5.
The eagle didn’t just change the math on his card. It also marked the highlight of a wild sequence: it was his fifth straight three to start the challenging set of holes, pulling him back to 1-over for the tournament.
Mitchell didn’t want to settle there. He carried momentum toward the ninth with a chance to shoot 29 on his closing stretch and finish at even.
On the par-4 ninth, he stuffed his approach to eight feet on the 479-yard hole and poured in the putt. That shot sealed the most intense roller-coaster round the U.S. Open has seen in a long time.
The numbers made the comeback even more remarkable: he shot an even-par 70 at the U.S. Open without shooting in the 30s on either nine. He also became the first player ever to shoot 29 on the front nine at Shinnecock and recorded just the seventh 9-hole score of 29 in U.S. Open history.
With the afternoon wave about to hit the course, Mitchell’s even-par 70 was good enough to put him in a tie for seventh—only two strokes off the clubhouse lead.
Keith Mitchell U.S. Open Shinnecock Hills golf eagle double-bogey 29 even-par 70 leaderboard
The U.S. Open was “testing nerves”?? Sounds like that course is just out to ruin everyone’s life.
Wait so he had a double bogey and then somehow got an eagle like 10 minutes later? Golf is literally witchcraft. Also injury-free? that part sounded weird.
I don’t get it… if he ended even-par 70, why are they saying it’s some historic comeback? Like even par is good right? Maybe he cheated and then the eagle made it look better lol.
Shinnecock Hills always sounds like it hates people. He starts on the 10th tee, overshoots by 44 yards, then doubles, then suddenly birdies on 1,3,4 and an eagle on 5?? That’s not a swing, that’s a plot twist. I’m just gonna assume the front nine lucked out because nobody gets a 29 normally.