Bay Hill hopefuls include English

ORLANDO, Fla. — Kurt Kitayama had to leave home to find his way in golf by playing circuits in Europe, Asia and Australia, all for a chance to get to the highest level. Along with three tournament victories, he learned how to battle.

That might come in handy Sunday at Bay Hill Club.

Without a birdie on the front nine and no longer in the lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Kitayama fought back with a 25-foot birdie to start the back nine and made two birdies over the final three holes Saturday for a par round of 72. A 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole put him at 9-under 207 through 54 holes and gave him a one-shot lead over both fellow American player Scottie Scheffler, who’s No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and Norway’s Viktor Hovland.

“Just proud of the way I fought,” Kitayama said. “There’s no giving up. It’s just kind of in my nature. Even when it’s going bad, you can’t just like pack it in. You fight for every shot.”

Now comes the hard part for Kitayama, a 30-year-old Californian going after his first PGA Tour victory. With a $20 million purse as one of the circuit’s elevated events, the field is rich with familiar names because it has every tour member from the top 50 in the world.

Scheffler (68), trying to repeat as tournament champion, had five birdies over his last seven holes in warm gusts that made Bay Hill tough as ever. Hovland, who tied for second at last year’s tourney, holed a bunker shot for one of his six birdies in a bogey-free 66. England’s Tyrell Hatton (66) was fourth at 7 under, and Baylor School graduate Harris Engish (69) was another shot back and tied with third-ranked Rory McIlroy (68) of Northern Ireland. Keith Mitchell (73), another Baylor graduate, was tied for 19th at 2 under.

Multiple major winners Jordan Spieth (74) and Justin Thomas (72) were in seventh at 5 under alongside rookie Pierceson Coody (66), while Max Homa (71) — seeking his third PGA Tour win in less than a year — was tied with Cameron Young (72) for 10th.

Kitayama finished one shot behind three times last year. Now he has to contend with a host of top players in a final round that could be wide open.