Pro’s temper flares after buzzer-beater tee shot goes awry at Players Championship

Editor’s note: The original video linked below was removed, but Mitchell reposted it Sunday while taking a jab at the PGA Tour.

Mulligans aren’t allowed on the PGA Tour, and they usually don’t even fly after the first hole during recreational rounds with friends. This morning, PGA Tour pro Keith Mitchell is wishing neither of those things were true.

The second round of the 2023 Players Championship was suspended Friday night when thunderstorms rolled through TPC Sawgrass. Nearly half the field was still on the course, so when the buzzer blew, they were forced to mark their balls and return Saturday morning to finish up.

News

Mitchell was standing on the tee at the par-4 5th hole when it was clear play was about to be called. Instead of waiting for the horn and saving his tee shot for Saturday, Mitchell decided to quickly get his drive over with before the round was suspended.

He instantly regretted it. Mitchell took a mighty swipe with his driver and sliced it badly, sending it careening way right. Mitchell knew how bad it was as soon as he hit it, and he responded by slamming his driver into the ground long before the ball landed.

Just after he slammed his club, the horn blew suspending play, and just after that Mitchell’s ball splashed down into a pond running along the hole.

The unfortunate moment was posted on Twitter and went viral before it was taken down due to a rights issue. But then Mitchell posted the video on his own account for the masses to watch, which you can view below:

Making the mishit more frustrating was that Mitchell stood at even par at that point, just above the cutline. When he returned Saturday morning, he was able to regain composure and save bogey on the hole, eventually finishing the round at two over for the tournament. That was good enough to make the cut on the number, and then he had a solid weekend to finish T35 at four under.

Kevin Cunningham

Golf.com Editor

As managing producer for GOLF.com, Cunningham edits, writes and publishes stories on GOLF.com, and manages the brand’s e-newsletters, which reach more than 1.4 million subscribers each month. A former two-time intern, he also helps keep GOLF.com humming outside the news-breaking stories and service content provided by our reporters and writers, and works with the tech team in the development of new products and innovative ways to deliver an engaging site to our audience.