WINDY BAY HILL WORKING FOR KITAYAMA, NOT RAHM
Kurt Kitayama is chasing his first PGA Tour victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando Fla., with a world-class group of contenders right behind him.
Kitayama should be used to that.
Last year alone, he fell one shot short of Jon Rahm in Mexico, San Diego’s Xander Schauffele in Scotland and Rory McIlroy in South Carolina.
Kitayama handled the wind that only made Bay Hill tougher, posting a 4-under 68 for a two-shot lead over Jordan Spieth, a three-time major champion and former No. 1 player in the world.
“Right now I feel like I’m just trying to get that win,” Kitayama said. “It’s tough, especially with the guys I’ve been against. So I’ve just got to keep putting myself in that position to give myself a chance.”
Rahm finally looked human. His final five holes included a double bogey, three bogeys and a birdie. He shot 76, his highest score since a 76 in the third round of the PGA Championship last May, and fell six shots behind.
“How would I characterize it? What do you think I’m going to say? Excuse my language, but it’s (expletive) hard,” Rahm said.
He was smiling as he spoke, happy to be done and resigned that a tough day at the office would not belong only to him in these conditions.
“It’s firm. It’s fast. And it’s blowing 30 miles an hour,” he said. “It’s a very difficult golf course.”
Kitayama was at 9-under 135, and the immediate challenge is Spieth, who tied for fourth in his lone appearance at Bay Hill.
Cameron Young looked to be right there until the final four holes. He was one shot behind until a pair of bogeys and then a shot from the thick rough into the water on the 18th for a double bogey and a 73. He was five behind.
Schauffele dropped only one shot — his approach to the 11th came up short and into the water, and he made an 18-foot putt to escape the bogey — and played the final 16 holes without a bogey. He shot 70 and was three behind along with Corey Conners, who had the low round of the day at 66.
“Felt like a 62,” Conners said.
Justin Thomas managed eight birdies, only for a bogey-bogey finish for a 67. He was in the group at 5-under 139 that included Patrick Cantlay (71) and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, who birdied his last three holes for a 69.
Kitayama plodded along even as the wind began to pick up. He was bogey-free until the par-5 16th when he got out of position off the tee and had to play short of the water with his third shot, leading to bogey.
But he answered with a 100-foot bunker shot to tapin range on the par-3 17th, and with the wind at his back, hit gap wedge to 10 feet for birdie.
Kitayama doesn’t need a PGA Tour event to get in some good competition. He plays regularly in Las Vegas with Schauffele and twotime major champion Collin Morikawa.
“Yeah, Kurt, we call him ‘Quadzilla’ or the ‘Quadfather.’ He’s got really big legs,” Schauffele said. “He’s a good dude. He’s a really good player. He hangs tough and he’s got a good head on his shoulders. So not surprised to see him up there.”
There’s plenty of power from those legs on the 5foot-7 Kitayama. After a tapin birdie on the 11th, he hammered a drive 361 yards on the par-5 12th, leaving only an 8-iron to the green that set up another birdie.
Elsewhere
Carson Young had to lean more on his short game and posted a 5-under 67 and built a four-shot lead going into the weekend at the Puerto Rico Open in Rio Grande. Young, a 28-year-old rookie on the PGA Tour, didn’t have quite the theatrics as his opening round of three eagles that carried him to a 63. He still put himself in great position as he goes after his first tour win. Young was at 14-under 130. Another tour rookie, Nico Echavarria of Colombia, had a 67 and was four shots back along with Paul Haley II (66).
• Brett Quigley shot a 7under 65 to take a one-shot lead over Brian Cooper, John Huston and Kirk Triplett after the first round of the Champions Tour Cologuard Classic at Tucson, Ariz.
• Danielle Kang avoided distractions during a rainsoaked day and shot a 9under 63 for a one-shot lead after the second round of the Women’s World Championship in Singapore. Kang opened with a 71 for a 10under 134 total after two rounds. Allisen Corpuz (65), Hyo Joo Kim (67) and firstround leader Elizabeth Szokol (71) were a shot back at the Sentosa Golf Club. Szokol opened on Thursday with a 64.