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Mitchell gets first PGA win

Pro golf roundup

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Keith Mitchell’s first and until now only win as a professional was three years ago, on something called the G Pro Tour.

As is the case with minitour life, hardly anybody was watching and hardly anybody noticed. He earned $5,600.

Those days are long gone. After 97 tries on the PGA Tour, the Web.com Tour and even the Latinoamerica Tour, Mitchell is finally a winner — and had to outslug two of the game’s best players for that long-awaited victory. A birdie on the par-5 18th on Sunday capped Mitchell’s win at The Honda Classic, where he held off Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler.

“It was awesome,” Mitchell said. “I wish that I could come up with a better word than that, but just having a chance to come down the stretch against Rickie Fowler and Brooks, those guys are the best in the world and they’ve been out here proving themselves. And I’m just pleased that I could prove myself against guys like that.”

Mitchell birdied four of his final seven holes, including a 15-footer on the last for a 3-under 67 and a 9-under 271 total. Koepka (66) and Fowler (67) made big charges as well on a wild and windy day at PGA National, yet settled for a tie for second at 8 under, one shot behind Mitchell.

Fowler gave Mitchell a warm embrace when they crossed paths after the final putt.

“Awesome guy,” Fowler said. “Obviously, a good enough player to win.”

Koepka and Fowler both birdied the 18th. Fowler actually birdied three of his final four holes, including a 45-footer on the 17th.

But Mitchell didn’t waver in the wind.

He was on the upslope of a fairway bunker about 205 yards from the pin for his second shot at the par-5 18th. All he could do from there was hit a pop-up, leaving him with a wedge in for his third.

That checked up about 15 feet below the hole, giving him a putt to win. He made it, pumped his fist and waited for the final group of Wyndham Clark and Vijay Singh to finish about five minutes later.

“Everybody dreams about having that putt on the 18th hole to win a tournament,” Mitchell said. “And I had it today.”

Ryan Palmer (63) and Lucas Glover (66) tied for fourth at 7 under. And for a while, it looked like Palmer might steal the tournament.

Palmer was tied for 48th after the opening round, tied for 51st after 36 holes and tied for 39th when the final round began. But he started with four straight birdies on the way to going out in 29 — the first player to ever do that in a final round at the Honda. He rolled in a 25-footer from just off the green for birdie at the par-4 16th, then stuck his tee shot to 6 feet and made birdie at the par-3 17th.

Elsewhere:

n Sung Hyun Park birdied five of her opening seven holes, added four birdies on the back nine and closed with an 8-under 64 for a two-shot victory in the HSBC Women’s World Championship.

n Mark O’Meara seized control with five birdies on the front nine and closed with a 7-under 66 for a four-shot victory Sunday in the Cologuard Classic, his first victory on the PGA Tour Champions in more than eight years. The 62-year-old O’Meara had a one-shot lead going into the final round and stretched it to four going to the back nine. He was never seriously challenged the rest of the way to pick up his first victory since the Senior Players Championship toward the end of the 2010 season.

n Kurt Kitayama had six birdies and an eagle to salvage a 1-under 71 in the weather-delayed third round in the morning, and then birdied two of the last three holes in the afternoon for a 70 and a one-shot victory in the Oman Open.

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