Kelly Mitchum takes the third place after round three of the PGA Professional National Championship
Kelly Mitchum, a PGA assistant professional at Pinehurst Resort, carded an even-par 72 in the third round of the PGA Professional National Championship at the Bayonet & Black Horse Golf Club, Seaside, California, to take the third spot on Tuesday, June 26,
2012.
Following a good start in the opening two rounds, he settled for a four-under par overall score. Therefore, he entered the weekend with an aim of recording another good round to remain in contention till the end.
He got off to a confident start and managed to score three birdies through eight holes that took him to three-under for the round.
"I played pretty solid the first two days and I just wanted to get out to a good start," Mitchum recounted.
"I got off to a really good start. I hit a nice birdie putt on four and hit it in there close on five. Almost reached the par-5 eighth in two, up and down for birdie and I'm 3 under for the day".
Before teeing off at the ninth hole, he looked at the leaderboard and found himself tied for the lead along with Matt Dobyns.
However, a double bogey on the par-four ninth hole, followed by two consecutive bogeys on the 13th and 14th hole spoiled his score for the day.
"Nine is a really tough hole for me, even if I hit it in the fairway because I have a really tough time holding the green," he explained. "I ended up trying to cut the corner a bit too close and then had to pitch out -- ended up making a double bogey".
Yet, he did not lose hope and ended the round on a high note, as he recorded a nice putt for the birdie on the 18th.
He looked really happy, especially after a great ending to the round that allowed him to avoid an over-par score. He is currently seven strokes behind the leader, Dobyns, who recorded a three-over par 69 on Tuesday.
In the meantime, the first round leader Mike Small captured the second place with an even-par score in the third round. His overall score after three rounds is five-under par 211.
Tags: