On this week’s episode of The Loop podcast, Lee chatted with our US colleagues about his new threads, his never-ending competition with his sister Minjee, and his “Call of Duty” sessions with his current roommate, Kurt Kitayama.
In the interview area at Bay Hill, Rory McIlroy stood hunched over a small TV that sat on the ground inside a black plastic tub, watching just like so many others along with him, the moment that Kurt Kitayama finally proved himself to the golf world. McIlroy had finished his 72 holes at the Arnold Read more…
Kurt Kitayama had suffered one-shot defeats in the past year to stars such as Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy, so it was fitting that Kitayama flipped the script for his first PGA Tour win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational to hold off a star-studded leaderboard to win a wild one at Bay Hill.
With one hole remaining in the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, there were as many as five players who had a chance to claim the title – and the $US3.6 million prizemoney payout – in the PGA Tour’s latest “designated” event.
Kitayama has a career milestone in his sights after a gutsy even-par 72 in the third round that kept him at nine-under and atop the leaderboard at Bay Hill.
Kurt Kitiyama has some experience being on the first page of the leaderboard on the weekend. He also knows what it’s like to battle with some of the game’s best late on Sunday. He’s confident those experiences will work to his advantage as he enters the weekend at the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a two-shot lead over Jordan Spieth after a crafty four-under-par 68 on Friday at breezy Bay Hill.
McIlroy’s irons are TaylorMade’s “Rors Proto” muscleback blades based off the company’s P730 irons, and he picked up nearly four shots on the field with his approach shots.