American Kurt Kitayama held off a crowded leaderboard at the Arnold Palmer Invitational to secure his first career PGA TOUR victory.
The 30-year-old Californian, whose previous wins came on the DP World Tour in 2018 and 2019, fired rounds of 67, 68, 72 and 72 and to finish on 9 under par at Bay Hill, where gusting winds and fast greens made scoring a challenge.
Holding a narrow lead going into the final round, a triple-bogey seven at the ninth hole looked to have derailed his chances of victory, but a vital birdie at the par-3 17th saw him regain the outright lead from Rory McIlroy and Harris English, and a brave two-putt par from 48 feet on the final green saw him secure a coveted PGA TOUR win on what was his first appearance at the tournament.
A TaylorMade staff player, Kitayama had a full bag of the brand’s equipment, including the Stealth 2 Plus driver and fairway woods, P·7MC and P-7MB irons, Milled Grind 3 wedges, a Spider X putter and TP5x golf ball.
Kitayama spent time with the TaylorMade Tour team during practice rounds to dial in spin rates and yardages on his fairway woods, while also switching from a Stealth 2 driver to Stealth 2 Plus driver after finding that it was producing more consistent spin rates.
The win comes after holding his first 54-hole lead in his PGA TOUR career and makes him the first player to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational in his debut appearance since 1990. Kitayama is also the first ever winner at Bay Hill to lead/tie for the lead in both fairways hit (70%) and greens in regulation (71%).
The victory proved to be a major milestone for Kitayma’s apparel sponsor Chervò, as the Bay Hill title marked the first time a player ambassador rerepsenting the Italian clothing brand has won on the PGA Tour.
Kitayama’s win also secured him a place at the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, while Harris English and Davis Riley took the two other Open spots that were on offer at Bay Hill for players who weren’t already otherwise qualified.
Kurt Kitayama WITB
- TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus 10.5° Driver
- TaylorMade Stealth 2 16.5° 3-wood
- TaylorMade Stealth 2 21.° 7-wood
- TaylorMade P·7MC irons (4-6)
- TaylorMade P·7MB irons (7-PW)
- TaylorMade Milled Grind 3 wedges (52° SB, 56°)
- TaylorMade Spider X Hydro Blast Flow Neck putter
- TaylorMade TP5x ball