Kurt Kitayama 'fought hard' for revenge on Rory McIlroy to win Arnold Palmer Invitational

Kurt Kitayama has finished second to Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele during his PGA Tour career, but he can now call himself a winner after a gutsy victory at Bay Hill Kurt Kitayama had come close on more than one occasion to his first win on the PGA Tour prior to the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational. He came second to Jon Rahm at the Mexico Open in 2022 and second to Xander Schauffele at the Genesis Scottish Open too. The two-time DP World Tour winner’s most recent disappointment came at this season’s CJ Cup, finishing one shot behind Rory McIlroy who returned to World No 1 at Congaree. Now, Kitayama can finally call himself a winner after earning his revenge on McIlroy, but also by beating a host of proven PGA Tour winners and major champions at Bay Hill. He entered the final round in Florida with a one-shot lead, but all seemed lost when he hit his tee shot out of bounds on the 9th hole. The eventual triple-bogey didn’t unnerve Kitayama and he stuck around as Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Tyrrell Hatton, Harris English, and Viktor Hovland missed opportunities to take the tournament by the scruff
Read More