Shots Fired
Keith Mitchell seemed legitimately pissed over Aaron Rodgers' 'crap' handicap
If you were waiting for the laugh track to kick in after Keith Mitchell commented on Aaron Rodgers' "crap" handicap at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, it never came. There was no ba dum, bump. No bursting out in laughter from the media on hand.
We know this because there is context. Had we only seen Mitchell's "I think Josh [Allen] and I won. Aaron Rodgers doesn't count. His handicap was crap." quote in writing, we'd assume he was messing around. Judging by the video evidence, Mitchell seemed dead serious:
Not sure you can even call that a cracked smile at the end. That's a man who wanted to make a point, and it's understandable. Rodgers, who is listed as a 3.0 index at Green Bay Country Club in Wisconsin, was getting 10 (!) shots each day of the weather-shortened 54-hole event. He put them to good use, taking first place with Canadian pro Ben Silverman at 26 under. The four-time NFL MVP had claimed he had played only one round since training camp, which took place last Monday at Sherwood Country Club where he shot 86. He followed that with a practice round on Tuesday at Cypress Point (NBD), and then "something clicked" at Spyglass on Thursday. Naturally, the 3.0 version of No. 12 showed up and showed out.
Allen made sure to give Rodgers some crap, too, not for his handicap but for the fact the tournament only went three rounds. Rodgers responded by saying his name would be on the Wall of Champions near Pebble's first tee for a "long time." He's not wrong, but the handicap police are officially on to him. Shades of Larry Fitz.
Even though Rodgers would be getting another 10-spot had it gone to a fourth round, Mitchell still wishes he and Allen could have had one more run at it.
"Absolutely. I really wish we could continue the fun," he said. "Playing with Josh was awesome. It does stink. But now it's just like another tournament. So we're used to it. It's what we do. It's every week-in and week-out. This is the exception for this week. So we're ready."
If he and Allen run it back next year, Allen better start doing some serious handicap-manipulating now.