Weekly Read Fore! Things: Spieth's Cold Putter, Rahm's Roadblock and Masters Qualifying Time Running Out
More Weekly Read: Assessing the Changing PGA Tour | Visiting Augusta | Tiger's Next Move
Fore! Things
1. Kurt Kitayama won the Arnold Palmer Invitational despite a triple-bogey 7 on the 9th hole, becoming the first player to win on the PGA Tour with a triple during the final round since Viktor Hovland in 2020 at the Puerto Rico Open.
2. There were numerous missed putts during the final round, but Jordan Spieth had a stretch of four straight holes on the back nine where he missed putts from 8 feet and in. He finished two strokes behind Kitayama.
It was this kind of a back nine on Sunday for Jordan Spieth (pictured after a miss on the 14th hole).
Reinhold Matay/USA TODAY Sports
3. The Arnold Palmer Invitational was one of the British Open qualifying events, meaning the top three players not otherwise exempt earned a place this summer at Royal Liverpool. Kitayama, Harris English (who tied for second) and Davis Riley (T8) got the three spots.
4. Next up is the PGA Tour’s flagship event, the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The tournament will have 44 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking. It won’t have the top three finishers from last year—winner Cam Smith, Anirban Lahiri and Paul Casey. All are ineligible because they went to LIV Golf.
Fore! More Things
1. Jon Rahm finally hit a roadblock. After an incredible run that saw him win five times and not finish outside the top 10 in his last 10 worldwide starts, Rahm struggled after an opening-round 65 and shot 76-76-72. His T39 was his worst since he tied for 34th at St. Andrews in July. His back-to-back rounds of 76 or worse was the first time he did that on the PGA Tour since the 2018 U.S. Open, when he went 78-77.
2. Scottie Scheffler was attempting to become the first player to defend multiple titles in the same season since Tiger Woods in 2007. He came up two shots short and tied for fourth.
3. There are just five more ways to qualify for the Masters: by winning at either the Players Championship, Valspar Championship, WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play or Valero Texas Open; or be among the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking following the Match Play. The field is now at 84 players.
4. There are 31 days until the opening round of the Masters.