You're Reading: Kurt Kitayama's Perseverance at the API 2023
”The emotion that he feels is so real.” That was Paul Azinger during NBC’s broadcast of the Arnold Palmer Invitational after eventual winner Kurt Kitayama pulled his tee shot out of bounds on the 9th hole at Bay Hill Club and Lodge.
We have all been there ourselves, and if you are a serious or competitive golfer playing a round that counts, you can likely relate to the emotion Azinger describes. Big numbers can easily ruin golf rounds, for both 9- and 18-hole rounds alike. The Stroke and Distance penalty mandated on the PGA Tour (the new local rule of taking a drop with a two-stroke penalty does not apply on tour) is disheartening and invites those dreaded big numbers.
Mathematically, bogey is still realistically in play. Re-tee and play the hole by shooting a birdie effectively for a bogey. For many of us, this is purely theory and unfortunately, the opposite often happens: the bad swing that led to OB leads to another poor and less than confident swing and ultimately a double bogey or worse.
Certainly, it is conceivable that professional golfers who have grinded to move up the ranks could be more or less unphased by such an outcome. However, the fact that Paul Azinger was a PGA Tour player himself who claimed 12 victories and multiple Ryder Cup appearances suggests that his observation and empathy are accurate.
Returning to Kitayama’s position, he decided to hit a provisional ball. His decision to opt for 3-wood with the provisional in contrast to driver with his first swing was concerning for his supporters as it showed a lack of confidence. Ultimately, this may have been the better decision.
Nevertheless, his 3-wood was too pulled left. Not as severely as his driver, but he finds the left fairway bunker just short of the lip. From here, Kitayama appears to attempt to hit the green. Instead, he fails to get over the lip and winds up in the right rough, left with a challenging shot from which to get up and down and at least get double bogey.
At this point, nothing was going well. Given the circumstances, despite the two-shot lead that Kitayama held on the 9th tee box, it looked as if he was in the midst of throwing away the tournament.
Most golf fans are likely unaware of the 30-year old Kitayama from Chico, California. His tenure on the PGA Tour began in 2016. However, at this time, he had not yet secured his PGA Tour card and could only play sparingly on the tour. He was forced to graduate through the Web.com, Asian, European, and Korn Ferry tours for 6 years before earning his card at the end of 2021.
In college, Kitayama “was nicknamed ‘The Project’ because his game needed so much work.” His path does not resemble that of break out stars, the likes of Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm, who golf fans have become accustomed to seeing atop the leaderboard of big name events. The Arnold Palmer Invitational is historically a popular event on the Florida circuit, but its elevation to a designated event in 2023 intensified the strength of the field.
These realities would suggest that Kitayama’s blow up hole, amidst charges from Jordan Spieth and former API champion Tyrell Hatton, would adjust the tournament focus to more familiar names. Add to the fact that Bay Hill Club and Lodge ranks as the toughest course on the PGA Tour.
Tough courses are capable of exposing a player’s even slightest weakness. Talor Gooch discovered this after going out in 43 and blowing his 54-hole lead at the same tournament in 2022. According to Dan Hicks, Kitayama was struggling off the tee and in his pre-round warmup “hit some good ones and he hit some ones that went well left, some went right.”
He could have certainly faltered.
But he didn’t.
After making triple bogey on the ninth, Kitayama was no longer in the lead, trailing Spieth and Hatton by one.
All of a sudden fan favorites in Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler were thrust back into contention. Both players would eventually take shares of the lead and at different points seemed primed for victory.
Meanwhile, Kitayama steadied his round with 7 straight pars before capitalizing on a great opportunity on the difficult par 3 17th hole to make a birdie, giving him the solo lead at 9 under.
Given the challenges of the finishing hole, his work was far from over. After another missed tee shot left, it looked as though the moment may have gotten to him. His ball appeared to have buried in the thick rough. There was the possibility that he would be forced to punch out to avoid the dangers around the green. Of course, if he went for the green, the water and bunker would come into play.
McIlroy’s and Harris English’s position at 8 under did not seem all that bad. Who wouldn’t have wanted a playoff to add to the excitement of the tournament. Likely, fans would have rooted for this possibility, knowing that Rory McIlroy could have another chance to win the tournament after playing his final five holes of regulation in 1-over par.
Kitayama would not allow for this narrative to play out. He played an incredible shot in the clutch to find the green and two-putt for par to win his first PGA Tour event.
"The shot you hit at eighteen – I don’t know if people realize really how good a shot that was … that might have been one of the best shots [Kitayama] hit out of that left rough at eighteen."
— Mark Rolfing Golf Channel Commentator Golf Channel
Kitayama’s success in a pressure-packed final round may not be such a surprise after looking back at his past performances.
In his first full season on the PGA Tour, he quickly found himself on the first page of the leaderboard on Sunday, starting at the 2022 Honda Classic where he earned himself a third-place finish. Austrian Sepp Straka would be the ultimate champion in the deluge that concluded the event. However, Kitayama showed he belonged, posting a 2-under 68 and a bogey-free 33 on the back nine.
About 2 months later, at the Mexico Open, he was paired with Jon Rahm in the final pairing on Sunday. While he was unable to track down the Spaniard, he bested Rahm in the final round, cutting the two-shot deficit to just one. Most importantly, he demonstrated the mental toughness to compete with one of the world’s best and most dominant players.
He would again do so last October at THE CJ CUP in South Carolina. Again, in the final pairing on Sunday. This time, replace Rahm with McIlroy. McIlroy’s firepower proved to be too much. He would win and ascend to the World’s No. 1 spot among the Official World Golf Rankings. Nevertheless, Kitayama recorded a solid, bogey-free round that included four birdies.
At last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, it was the first time that he held the lead on Sunday. He was the overnight leader and grew his lead to 2 strokes. Perhaps this was an unfamiliar territory for the Californian, which may have prompted his wayward tee sheet at the ninth.
"I was putting for triple … I still felt comfortable. I didn’t feel out of place. It was just one bad swing."
Sports Illustrated
Two things that contributed to Kitayama ability to hold on and beat the world’s best. Let us start with his caddie Tim Tucker.
For those who remember, Tim Tucker was the caddie for Bryson DeChambeau until their split in July of 2021. He was on the bag for several PGA Tour wins, including the 2020 US Open and 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
It is interesting that Tucker is able to adapt with success from a very technical routine that he had with DeChambeau to one that is most probably more typical of most caddies/players on the PGA Tour.
It is no secret that DeChambeau is a very thorough golfer in his preparations and efforts towards improvement. Consequently, Tucker was practiced in being a very active caddy, not a passive caddy that might leave the player more or less to their own devices, each of which may be beneficial depending on the player and caddy-player relationship.
Listen to GOLF’s Subpar’s podcast with Tim Tucker to get a glimpse into the thought process and preparations required of Tim Tucker to ensure his player would be in the best position to succeed.
There is no doubt that this experienced translated to his role on the bag with Kitayama, especially since he won at the event at the same course with DeChambeau.
No, any numbers or figures Tucker may have had of DeChambeau’s driver lines on the par 5 6th, on which DeChambeau successfully reached the green off the tee twice, were not very useful.
But, Tucker’s knowledge of the course’s nuances and how to play down the stretch were likely instrumental in the team’s victory.
Back to that shot Kitayama played from the left rough to find the green, Tucker and Kitayama’s interaction was audible on the broadcast. It was very clear that the two were committed to a singular goal from the get go: hit the green aiming 40-feet left from the well-protected pin location.
It is interesting that Tucker is able to adapt with success from a very technical routine that he had with DeChambeau to one that is most probably more typical of most caddies/players on the PGA Tour. In judging the lie and club selection from the rough, Tucker calmly and simply asked how much “resistance” Kitayama felt with his practice swings and confidently reassured him of the club decision.
The other reason that could explain why Kitayama was able to overcome his drive OB was that he knows his success is not due to the strength of his driving accuracy. So far in 2023, he is below Tour Average in Driving Accuracy by about 7% at 51.81%.
On route to his victory, he sported a driving accuracy of 73.81%, well above the field’s average for the week. Although the jump in accuracy is significant, when you are in the position to win, your game should theoretically be in better form than in other weeks, especially if you are not usually winning events. As an average, his 2023 statistic will include his worst performances as well as his better performances to arrive at a Driving Accuracy somewhere in the middle.
Anyway, his game has been forced to produce good scores without driving the ball great. His tee-ball on Hole No. 4 in the third round, which also found OB, is case and point: he still managed to take the lead going into the final round.
Therefore, when again he went out of bounds on Sunday, his confidence was intact as he was level-headed enough to compartmentalize it both as just one bad swing and just a swing with his driver, with which his confidence was probably not tremendous to begin with.
This is very different than if his driver was one of the strengths of his game. Without it, both mentally and purely physically, scoring on a challenging golf course is nothing but challenging.
He trusted that the rest of his game would keep him in contention and he made a crucial putt when he needed it most.
After this victory, Kitayama should be primed for a strong future on the PGA Tour. The win secures him a three-year membership on the PGA Tour and a position in the field of the 151st Open Championship.
Look out for him at this week’s Players Championship. He has a very valuable asset for a golfer – perseverance:
"What would you say the single biggest reason is that you won this tournament?” “Probably just perseverance."
— Rich Lerner in interview with Kurt Kitayama Golf Channel
