Canada's Mackenzie Hughes 2 shots back entering final round at Valspar Championship

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 at the Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, Fla.

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 three 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) of Hamilton, Seamus Power (68) and Peter Malnati (68).

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., are tied for eighth at 6 under. Roger Sloan of Calgary is tied for 34th at 2 under and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford is tied for 70th at 4 over.

WATCH l Hughes trails by 2 strokes:

Mitchell knew the shot was good, but something flew into his eye as he followed the flight, causing him to look away and wipe away the speck. Then he heard a loud cheer, looked up and realized the ball had gone in for a most unlikely eagle.

"When I looked up, something kind of flew in my eye, so I kind of looked away and never saw it come down and land," he said. "But I knew ... when I hit it, I was pleased with the contact."

The 18th green is elevated, and the pin was up front behind a deep bunker, so he wouldn't have been able to see it go in the hole, anyway.