JACKSON, Miss. — Keith Mitchell finished with a pair of birdies Saturday for a 7-under 65 and avoided some of the blunders that tripped up other contenders, giving him a one-shot lead going into the final round of the Sanderson Farms Championship.
At stake for Mitchell, whose lone PGA Tour victory was more than five years ago, is a chance to earn a spot in four premium events on the PGA Tour next year.
He holed a birdie putt from just inside 40 feet on the 17th hole, then finished by correctly judging his lie in the rough with an approach to 6 feet for his last birdie. Mitchell, who was at 20-under 196, had a one-shot lead over Beau Hossler.
“The putt on 17 was just a huge bonus,” Mitchell said. “Then I got an accident lie on 18 and hit a great shot. All in all, it started kind of slow and the last 10 holes I was just able to capitalize a little bit more.
Eight other players were within five of the lead.
Hossler and Daniel Berger were tied at 17 under as they approached the turn at the Country Club of Jackson, and it didn’t take much to make this tournament appear wide open.
Hossler birdied the ninth and suddenly found himself ahead by two shots when Berger made his first bogey of the tournament with a three-putt from 30 feet on the 10th, and then hit into the water on the par-5 11th for another bogey.
Berger, who bogeyed four of the first five holes on the back nine — including both par-5s — salvaged a 71 and was five shots behind.
Hossler appeared to be in complete control until missing the green long at the par-4 12th, leaving himself a 4-foot par and then shockingly three-putting from there for double bogey that dropped him out of the lead.
He responded with two tough par saves and three birdies over his last six holes for a 68 to at least get into the final group with Mitchell.
Asked to assess his play, Hossler replied, “Very, very good, minus about four minutes.”
Kevin Yu made a late move with two birdies for this third straight 66 and was alone in third, two shots behind as he goes for his first PGA Tour victory. Of the leading six players, only Mitchell and former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover (68) have won on tour.
Mitchell missed out on the FedEx Cup playoffs and is planning to play the fall to see if he can finish in the top 60 to get into the first two $20 million signature events at Pebble Beach and Riviera. A victory would get him into The Sentry at Kapalua, another $20 million purse, along with the Masters.
“Only won once and trying to close the door a second time, which has been clearly very difficult for me,” said Mitchell, whose lone victory was the Honda Classic in 2019.
Glover doesn’t put a lot of stock into experience winning on tour.
“Everybody out here is so good and so seasoned to win,” Glover said. “All the young guys coming up, it’s like the program is different than 20 years ago. But coming down the stretch tomorrow nerves are nerves, and knowing how to handle it is difference.
“The depth of talent is so deep that there will be a lot of guys who probably aren’t worried about nerves.”
Glover, who won in consecutive weeks last August, had a 68. He was at 16-under 200 with Bud Cauley (67) and Jacob Bridgeman, a rookie who held it together at the end. Coming off a bogey, Bridgeman hit a marvelous 6-iron under the trees and onto the green to avoid another bogey and closed by making a 7-foot par putt.