Keith Mitchell led a birdie spree at the Truist Championship on Thursday, shooting a career-best 9-under 61 to shatter the course record at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.
The previous Wissahickon Course record of 65 was shared by Colin St Maxen, Zac Blair and Angus Flanagan. The 7,100-yard A.W. Tillinghast design with modest par 4s and gettable pin placements fell victim to the long hitters and aggressive shots with short irons and wedges.
Mitchell was bogey-free and had an outside chance at 59 on his second shot from 102 yards on the ninth hole, his 18th. He hit his approach to just over 9 feet and settled for a closing par and a one-shot lead over Denny McCarthy. Colin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler, Sepp Straka and Akshay Bhatia shot 63.
Rory McIlroy, making his first individual start since completing the career grand slam at the Masters, had a 66 and was one of 64 players who beat par on the seemingly defenseless Wissahickon layout in the sixth signature event of the PGA Tour season.
Mitchell led the way despite a ho-hum start of five straight pars on the back nine. Things started to heat up for the 33-year-old with a birdies on the stout 17th and 18th holes. His run continued with birdies on two of the first three holes on his back nine before a four-birdie run for a 6-under 29 on the inward nine.