VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP

March 20, 2025

Keith Mitchell

Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead)

Quick Quotes

Q. It's a good start to the week, for sure, couple bogeys at the end, but I know it was playing tougher. What was clicking for you overall today?

KEITH MITCHELL: A lot of stuff. It's crazy to say you left some out there when it's windy, but I mean, I don't want to say that because you're going to make mistakes, you're going to hit shots that you wish you could have over or putts that you had over. All in all I kept it together the last number 8 was playing really hard today. And 9 the wind just off left I couldn't get it started far enough left and made bogeys there. But you take those two out of the round and sprinkle them somewhere else I'm feeling good.

Q. Was there anything early week that you honed in on your game or technique or mechanical or mental that you focused on?

KEITH MITCHELL: Yeah, I did a little bit of a setup change and mentally I just tried to shed everything. I just felt like I was thinking a lot, trying to think about what I was thinking about and trying to just be as precise as possible mentally and that was just really getting in the way. So I just tried to drop everything, shed it, and just try to go play golf. It worked today. It's hard to do. I was pleased with how I did it today, so hopefully I can keep doing it.

Q. It's to be like to be more instinctual and when thoughts come in -- how would you describe that in terms of shedding it and how that applies out there?

KEITH MITCHELL: We have so many goals in golf and when you're not doing what you want to do you try to adjust to where you are and everything. I just kind of today felt like I, my goal was to try to be as honed in on the shot as possible, whether it's the wind, whether it's the lie, the break, the speed whatever, just think about only those things and not anything about what I'm thinking about. Mentally we try to tell ourselves what to do and how to do it and today I just tried to be extremely simple and think about golf and it worked.

Q. (No Microphone.)

KEITH MITCHELL: I think it's a better hole with that tee. It brings the bunker into play more and you have some options. The wind's pretty much off the left today, you get a down gust you can cover the bunker, but if you get an into the wind gust you're going to be into the bunker. Which makes you think about laying back and the more you lay back, the longer club. You have to start it over the trees, closer to 10 just to keep it in the fairway and that's what makes it tough.

Q. (No Microphone.)

KEITH MITCHELL: You could clear the bunker when the tees are up and just it was, the fairway's wider and you have less club in.

Q. Why do you think you're a horse for this course?

KEITH MITCHELL: I think I've had seven or so good rounds here out of a lot, so I wouldn't say that necessarily, I just would think that it's more demanding off the tee and more demanding into the greens. I feel like that's my strength and I think that's why I've played okay here. I played great for three rounds last year, but I think it's more the tee to the green aspect, making sure you hit it in the fairway and making sure you hit it on the green.

Q. How did you process that final round?

KEITH MITCHELL: I didn't. I still think about it. It's still definitely in the back of my mind and I want it to stay there for hopefully for the rest of my career to just motivate me toe remember what it feels like when you let those kind of nerves get in your way. Around a round like today feels like the opposite of that. So, processing it, I guess, is something that I want to keep to always have it in the memory banks, like this is what not to do. You look at a lot of guys in their career, everybody has a few of those and that was mine.

Q. What's the memory you like to keep in the front of your mind here?

KEITH MITCHELL: Yeah, I would say the putt I made on 18 on Sunday in 2017 when I Monday qualified and that was my very first ever PGA TOUR event. I Monday qualified that week and I think I finished 11th and birdied the last hole.

Then the way I finished Snake Pit on Saturday on 16, 17, 18. But I think those are equally important as the bad ones, because you got to remember what you did in the good and remember what you did in the bad and try to lean toward the good.

Q. Was this the best putting round you've had this season?

KEITH MITCHELL: I don't know.

Q. Did it feel like it?

KEITH MITCHELL: Other than number 8 it did.

Q. How far do you have Georgia going in the bracket?

KEITH MITCHELL: One game at a time. You know how that goes. One game at a time. Just like one round at a time this week. One round at a time.