JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Keith Mitchell picked a good Friday to make 10 birdies.
The University of Georgia product shot up the leaderboard with six birdies in a row en route to shooting 7-under 64 at Liberty National Golf Club and shares third place at the midway point of the Northern Trust.
Last month, Mitchell strung together seven birdies in a row to begin his third round at the 3M Open. What else does Mitchell have in store for the FedEx Cup?
“Try to get to eight (in a row),” he said. “When you get on those rolls, the putts are falling, you’re hitting them close, and then you try to just keep the pedal down. And it’s a little easier when you feel confident in every part of your game, and today was another time where I felt great.”
That has Mitchell projected to improve to No. 37 in the FedEx Cup, an improvement of 64 spots in the standings, which would be the largest potential move this week.
“I have to finish somewhere in the top 10, maybe even top five, and to be able to do it here is great,” Mitchell said. “But if it wasn’t for those at 3M, I’d probably have to finish even better. You know, we’re never going to discredit a birdie, and this week I’m going to need a lot more just to keep going to next week.”
The tournament within a tournament at the Northern Trust is the battle to finish within the top 70 in the FedEx Cup point standings to advance to the BMW Championship at Caves Valley next week.
With points quadrupled, Mitchell shows the volatility that can exist. He’s one of six players projected to move into the top 70 along with Harold Varner III (No. 44), Alex Noren (No. 52), Tom Hoge (No. 62), Erik van Rooyen (No. 65) and Seamus Power (No. 69).
Those projected to fall out: Talor Gooch, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Martin Laird, Troy Merritt and J.T. Poston.
Former World No. 1 Jason Day missed the cut and will be absent from the BMW Championship, where he is a past champion, for the first time since 2012.
Among those who will have to sweat out the weekend are Phil Mickelson, who missed the cut and is projected at No. 68 and Matthew Wolff, who is projected as the ‘bubble boy’ at No. 70.
Varner, for one, is living and dying with every shot.
“I think about it every hole,” he said. “I know if I birdie this hole, I’m going to move up. It’s pretty simple. In the context of actually thinking where I’m at on the list, I can’t add that up that fast, thankfully. But yeah, if you play well, you’re going to have a good chance to be at East Lake. Yeah, I’m always thinking about it.”
Players projected to move into top 70
| Player | Position | YTD Rank | Proj. Rank* |
| Keith Mitchell | T3 | 101 | 37 |
| Harold Varner III | T6 | 72 | 44 |
| Alex Noren | T6 | 91 | 52 |
| Tom Hoge | T6 | 108 | 62 |
| Erik van Rooyen | T17 | 76 | 65 |
| Seamus Power | T25 | 73 | 69 |
Players projected to move out of top 70
| Player | Position | YTD Rank | Proj. Rank* |
| Talor Gooch | T57 | 64 | 71 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | MC | 60 | 72 |
| Tyrrell Hatton | MC | 63 | 73 |
| Martin Laird | MC | 65 | 74 |
| Troy Merritt | MC | 69 | 77 |
| J.T. Poston | MC | 70 | 78 |