PALM HARBOR, Fla. >> Keith Mitchell capped off a magnificent run through the “Snake Pit” at Innisbrook on Saturday with a shot he never saw go in. His 7-iron from the 18th fairway one-hopped into the hole for eagle and a 5 under and a two-shot lead in the Valspar Championship.

Mitchell was among a dozen players on the fringe of contention at a tournament so tight that it began with all 77 players who made the cut separated by a mere six shots.

That changed when he went 3-2-2 through the closing stretch of the Copperhead course, the first player to do that in tournament history. Mitchell holed a birdie putt just inside 15 feet on the 16th hole, hit 6-iron to inside 3 feet for birdie on the par-3 17th and then holed out on the 18th hole with a 7-iron from about 151 yards up a steep hill.

That puts Mitchell at 10-under 203, two shots clear of Mackenzie Hughes (69), Seamus Power (68) and Peter Malnati (68).