ORLANDO, Fla. — Arnold Palmer Invitational 36-hole leader Kurt Kitayama once received a bag of money from tournament organizers after winning an event overseas.
The well-traveled Californian has experienced plenty of peculiar and unsettling moments during his nomadic career. Kitayama’s payout for his 2018 Asian Development Tour win in Malaysia ranks high on the list.
“It was a lot of cash,” he recalled Friday. “I paid my caddie off and then took the rest.”
Kitayama joked he left the course with one eye over his shoulder, a similar position he faces under far different circumstances entering Saturday’s third round at Bay Hill Club & Lodge.
After a rock-solid 4-under 68 during hot, gusty conditions, he is at 9-under-par 135 and ahead of a loaded field featuring every golfer in the top 30 of the world rankings — save three defectors to the rival LIV Tour.
A closing birdie on the 18th hole following a 156-yard gap wedge to 10 feet left Kitayama two shots clear of three-time major champion Jordan Spieth, who carded a 69 despite a nail-biting finish. He followed consecutive birdies with a closing bogey on the par-4 18th hole that could have been worse after his tee shot nearly went out of bounds.
“I was very prepared to grab another golf ball,” he said. “I was very fortunate. I should have made 6 or 7.”
Three shots back are world No. 6 Xander Schauffele and Canadian Corey Conners, whose 66 was the day’s low round and a stroke better than Justin Thomas. Shot-making prowess produced 8 birdies for Thomas, but he bogeyed his final two holes for a 67 to sit 5-under with three players, including reigning U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick.
“You just can’t take any shots off,” Thomas said.
A day yielding a scoring average of 73.5 on the par-72 layout was an adventure for the 118 players who completed 36 holes. With four holes to go, long-hitting Cam Young was a shot out of the lead with a par-5 still to play. He was 4-over coming in, capped by a double bogey on 18.
The 30-year-old Kitayama’s non-traditional career path has steeled him for difficult moments.
“Just dealing with adversity, really,” he said. “When you’re in a random country in Asia and you don’t know what you’re doing or where you’re going, it’s pretty frustrating and honestly kind of scary. No one speaks your language. I think that helps you ... just grow, just kind of learn from that experience of being in an uncomfortable situation.”
Nervy moments surely await Kitayama.
With victories on the European, Asian and South Africa’s Sunshine tours, Kitayama has professional wins on three continents but none on his home soil — a fact he could change this weekend if he continues his steady play.
The $3.6 million winner’s purse will not come in a brown bag.
But given the course conditions and weather, the potential for leaderboard chaos looms. Winds in the mid-teens are forecast Saturday, a day after they blew between 20 to 30 mph.
Fan favorite Rickie Fowler watched the wind blow his marked golf ball several feet on the tricky par-4 8th hole. After his caddie retrieved it, Fowler sank a par putt outside 15 feet.
World No. 1 Jon Rahm, playing a group behind, wasn’t so fortunate. A gust blew his ball on the green amid a 3-putt effort during a miserable 4-over 40 on his final nine holes. Rahm’s 76 was 11 shots more than his opening 65 and left him 3-under.
“it’s [expletive] hard,” he said, with a laugh. “It’s firm, it’s fast and it’s blowing 30 miles an hour.”
The score matched Rahm’s highest on Tour since the third round of the 2022 PGA Championship, a stretch of 15 tournaments and five wins.
“It’s not hard to do out here,” said Schauffele, who played the first two rounds with Rahm and Collin Morikawa. “You’re going to see a lot worse scores than 76 today, I promise.”
The day ended with five scores in 80s and six 79s. Recent major champions Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama and Gary Woodland missed the cut. World No. 7 Will Zalatoris, No. 14 Sam Burns and No. 20 Billy Horschel also did not reach the weekend.
Meanwhile, Kitayama finds himself in an increasingly familiar position. He played in the final pairing after 54 holes during the Scottish Open with Schauffele, the CJ Cup with Rory McIlroy and in Mexico last winter with Rahm.
Known for an unorthodox yet powerful swing, Kitayama now works with Florida Gators coach J.C. Deacon, who will be at Bay Hill this weekend.
Following his a rough day, Rahm hoped to delay Kitayama’s coronation and pick up his fourth win the season.
“Obviously he keeps putting himself in contention in difficult tournaments,” Rahm said. “It’s a matter of just getting it done. There’s no shortcut to something like that. In this tournament you’re going to have to show up on the weekend and play good.
“So far he’s been doing it. Hopefully, I’m one of those that spoils the weekend for him.”
