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The Loop
Announcers are still getting Keith Mitchell's name wrong despite Honda Classic victory
Sam Greenwood
Late in the third round of the Honda Classic, Keith Mitchell, who held a share of the 36-hole lead, was making his way toward the clubhouse when NBC showed he and playing partner Sungjae Im some love on the broadcast. At the time, Mitchell was grinding to the finish, playing his final three holes in one over to post an even-par 70, which put him one back of Wyndham Clark heading into Sunday. So he was still a relative unknown in the golf world, especially to fans who were likely seeing him for the first time.
He was also still somewhat unknown to NBC announcer Dan Hicks, that or Hicks just had a slight slip-up when he referred to him as "Kevin" Mitchell as Keith made his way up the 18th fairway. Of course, Mitchell went on to win in epic fashion on Sunday at the 72nd hole, and he was a great sport about Hicks' mishap when he finally saw the video, as was Hicks. Hicks had no "Kevin" moments in the final round, though Keith still had to deal with an absolutely brutal headline from the Palm Beach Post on Monday morning.
But those days are over. KEITH Mitchell is a PGA Tour winner now, and he followed up his Honda win with a really strong performance at Bay Hill, where he tied for sixth. At the Players, he shot a second-round 65, though he faded on the weekend. The point is, it was a three-week stretch that should have made him a bit more of a recognizable name, at least among hardcore followers of the sport.
Alas, that is still not the case, as announcers are still getting Keith's name wrong. And not just wrong, but using "Kevin" again! Here's Rich Lerner on Golf Channel during the WGC-Match Play on Wednesday, saying "some of the other good matches we're following today, Tony Finau against Kevin Mitchell." Here's the video captured by J.T. Poston's caddie (and operator of the Cruncy Pete Twitter account) Aaron Flener:
A marquee PGA Tour victory and a $1.2 million check still isn't enough for people to get your name right. We don't mean to put Rich on blast, because he's very good at what he does and this was likely a similar slip-up to Hicks', but come on, it's KEITH! Perhaps everyone is subscribing to that hilarious "Family Guy" clip that says Keith is the most unattractive male first name in the English language:
Kevin Keith is once again taking it in stride, changing his Twitter name to reflect the confusion:
Other tour pros also piled on:
Funny stuff. Now, everybody say it with me now ... KEITH. MITCHELL.