“It’s pretty unbelievable, really” - Kurt Kitayama overcomes triple bogey to claim Arnold Palmer Invitational for his maiden PGA Tour victory

By Shobhit Kukreti

Modified Mar 06, 2023 07:10 GMT

Kurt Kitayama won $3.6 million for his win at Arnold Palmer Invitational — Kurt Kitayama won $3.6 million at the Arnold Palmer Invitational

Kurt Kitayama came into the final day of the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a lead of one stroke. It was all good until the 9th hole when his shot went out of bounds by just six inches. A triple bogey led him to trail Jordan Spieth by one stroke. However, Kitayama held his nerve and played the inward nine with no bogeys and a birdie to triumph at Bay Hill for his first PGA Tour victory.

“I’ve always dreamed of winning on the Tour and to finally do it, yeah, it’s pretty amazing,” Kitayama said after his win at Arnold Palmer Invitational. “It’s pretty unbelievable, really.”

The 30-year-old came close to winning on the Tour earlier but never really went through the final line. In the last couple of seasons, Kitayama has had a runner-up finish at the Mexico Open, Scottish Open, and the CJ Cup.

Kitayama started well with three birdies in the first seven holes, which included a 46-footer hole on the seventh. Everything was going well until the 9th when his tee shot went out of bounds by six inches. This was the only slump in Kitayama's fourth-round play. He finished at par-72 to conclude his four-day score at 9-under 279.

Jordan Spieth started well with four birdies in his first five holes. He even got a lead when Kityama made a triple bogey but three bogeys in the last four holes forced him to card a score of 2-under-70 to finish in a tie for fourth.

Rory McIlroy had a bad start on the first day at Bay Hill but he made an incredible recovery in the final three rounds to finish at T-2 alongside Harris English. The 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational winner posted 2-under-70 to aggregate at 8-under-280, one stroke shorter than Kitayama.

The Irish star holed seven birdies in the final round, but five bogeys didn't help him capitalize on that. McIlroy took the lead after a birdie on the 13th but was unaware of it. As a result, he went a little aggressive on the next hole and went for a bogey. By his own admission, he wouldn't have gone for it if he knew he had the lead.

“As I was walking to the 14th green, I looked behind me at the scoreboard, and I was leading by one. And if I had of known that, I wouldn’t have tried to play the shot that I played,” admitted Rory.

Scottie Scheffler could have been back at No. 1 if he had defended his title at Bay Hill, but instead, he finished at 7-under with a tied fourth-place finish.