ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Two days after his first PGA Tour victory, Keith Mitchell still had not checked his bank account to see if his Honda Classic earnings of more than $1.2 million had cleared. That’s about $400,000 less than when he earned his entire rookie season.
Just don’t expect him to go on any shopping spree.
And to hear Mitchell talk on Tuesday, he is more inclined to spend it on someone else.
Mitchell was asked about the biggest thing he has ever bought for himself since joining the PGA Tour, and he mentioned a watch for his father.
There’s a story behind that.
“When my grandfather passed away, he gave his watch,” Mitchell said. “It was cool because my dad had given my grandfather that watch when he got out of medical school. It was like a ‘thank you’ to him. I felt like me getting on tour was like me graduating med school. So I got him a similar watch — same style, different color.”
What kind of watch?
Mitchell smiled and said, “I’ll leave that out.”
He said his father always figured he would go the education route instead of professional golf, mainly because Mitchell’s father worked hard through medical school and saw what kind of opportunities it provided.
“It was tough for him to grasp the whole golf world, because he played golf for fun,” Mitchell said.
Golf is working out pretty well for Mitchell, who earned a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour along with a spot in the Masters next month, which will be his first major.
And he has a college degree from Georgia.
Mitchell was one semester short when he finished his senior season with the Bulldogs and had thought about turning pro after the NCAA Championship. Instead, he went back and finished up his degree.
