Kurt Kitayama Defeats All-Star Leaderboard at Arnold Palmer Invitational for First PGA Tour Victory

An army of PGA Tour superstars put up a thrilling fight on Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but it was a fresh face—Kurt Kitayama—who outlasted the major championship-caliber field for his maiden PGA Tour victory.

“I've always dreamed of winning on the Tour and to finally do it, yeah, it's pretty amazing. It's pretty unbelievable, really,” Kitayama said. 

Rory McIlroy, Harris English, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, and Tyrrell Hatton all possessed either solo or shares of the lead at varying points throughout the rollercoaster final round at Bay Hill Club and Lodge.  

Kitayama, 30, is no stranger to close competition with the world’s best players down the stretch. Kitayama’s three runner-up finishes within the last year came behind McIlroy, world No. 1 Jon Rahm, and fellow Las Vegas resident Xander Schauffele.

Now, the roles have finally reversed. 

Kitayama’s win makes him an exempt player on the PGA Tour until 2026. He’ll also secure spots in all four major championships, as well as the 2024 Sentry Tournament of Champions. 

The UNLV product’s final round of 72 did not come without its speed bumps. On the 9th hole, Kitayama’s drive came to rest just inches from the out-of-bounds line, resulting in a triple-bogey 7. 

“You know, it went south on nine. All of sudden I’m not leading anymore. I just fought back, fought back hard. Proud of myself for that,” Kitayama said.

“I told him I didn’t feel rattled at all,” Kitayama said of his conversation with his caddie Tim Tucker after the triple bogey. Tucker was previously on the bag for 2021 API winner Bryson DeChambeau, now with LIV Golf. “He’s like ‘Yeah, I know. You look good. We’re just going to keep chucking along. We’ll get it back.” 

Kitayama is the first player since 1983 to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a triple bogey or worse in the final round. 

The blunder didn’t bother Kitayama for long, as he rallied to a back-nine 35. All the while, McIlroy struggled in his last five holes and English scraped out a final-round 70 to take a shared of the clubhouse lead with McIlroy. 

Kitayama’s win was all but finalized, however, after he drained a confident birdie putt on the 217-yard par-3 17th to reach 9 under for the tournament. He headed into the final hole of the tournament with a one-shot lead over McIlroy and English.

After his drive found Bay Hill’s treacherous rough on the 18th, Kitayama’s skillful approach found the putting surface. McIlroy and English sat patiently waiting for Kitayama’s fate to be determined: He would need two putts to win the title, three putts would result in a three-man playoff. 

Ultimately Kitayama’s 47-foot putt came to rest just one rotation from the cup, solidifying his first PGA Tour victory. 

The Arnold Palmer Invitational is the PGA Tour’s fourth “designated” event of the year, meaning Kitayama will take home a sizable winner’s check of $3.6 million. Coming into the week, Kitayama’s career earnings on the PGA Tour totaled $4,285,452.  

Kitayama has had quite the journey leading up to this career-defining moment. In his winner’s press conference, he was asked to rattle off the different tours he’s played on throughout his time as a professional golfer, and the list is astounding. 

“Sure. Canada, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA, Europe, Sunshine, Asian Tour ... ADT, Japan, Korea, probably the India one too, I’m guessing ... oh yeah, China. I forgot about that one,” Kitayama said. 

Kitayama may laugh about it now, but he says his experiences playing on just about every developmental golf tour out there defined his growth as both a player and a person. 

“You just travel to every different country, you're dealing with logistics, food, the culture, language. So like outside of golf it's difficult if you don't know, if you don't have someone there helping you,” Kitayama said. “I think that just helps you grow as a person and when you get into situations like this, you can, you know, there's tougher things.”

Hundreds of hours of travel and thousands of airline miles later, Kitayama can finally say that the grind was well worth it.