Blaine, Minn. Laten we go to the Par-4 14th Hole in TPC Twin Cities, where Kurt Kitayama is in a Fairway bunker.
He has 192 meters on the gap. He has water for him. There is water left from the green. He leads with two. Jake Knapp and Sam Stevens do not leave the pairs.
Kitayama pulls 7-iron, waggels, swings … ball game.
Kitayama shot a laser over the water that never left the flag. It struck hard in front of the pen, rolled out and landed just two feet. Bird. Three-stroke lead.
“That was a very big shot,” said Kitayama. “Fairway bunker from 190 and to touch how I hit, it was incredible.”
That Fairway Bunker recording turned out to be the crucial one of Kitayam’s second career PGA Tour victory, which he earned on Sunday after photographing a six-under 65 to win the 3M open.
On 23 under generally, he finished a shot free from Stevens, who closed on Sunday with a 66.
The second PGA Tour victory of Kitayama comes two years after his first, when he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Bay Hill. It is also going to be a long way in extension of his season. He jumps from 110th to 53rd in the FedEx Cup classification with only next week’s Wyndham championship in the regular season. The Top 70 goes to the FedEx Cup St. Jude Championship of the following week, the Play -Ooff Opener, with the top 50 of the BMW championship and the top 30 of the Tour Championship, where Kitayama still has to play.
However, he has found success in Minnesota. He entered 6th here last year and fixed the course record (11-under 60) on Saturday. Gooi his Sunday 65 and Kitayam’s 20 Birdies made this weekend are most by a PGA Tour winner in the past two decades.
On Sunday, with low scores all week, it had to be a shootout, but some of the contenders faded early.
In the last link, the two 54-hole leaders, Akshay Bhatia and Thorbjorn Oesen struggled. Bhatia Bogey Bogeyed three of his first four and shot 75. Olesen made only two birdies all day and shot 73.
Kitayama, 32, was one of the four players who started the day with a shot from the leadership, but he slowly pulled away and continued the momentum after Saturday’s record round. He birds the first three and handed in six-under 29.
“I just think I had control over my irons … My wedges put me in those positions,” said Kitayama. “I hit them firmly. I trusted it a bit in the beginning and took advantage of the shorter holes with the wedges. You know, you don’t expect to come out like that after photographing 11 below, and coming out as it was special.”
His lead was two when he reached the Dogleg Par-4 14th and found the Fairway Bunker, but the unlikely Birdie pushed there from his advantage to three shots with four to play.
It appears that he needed the extra pillow.
Leading by two on the par-3 17th, Kitayama played well to the right of the pin hidden near the water but threewal for Bogey from 65 feet. He reached the 18th tee that Stevens led with one.
The Par-5 18th is a difficult last test, especially with the wind suddenly gusts of wind (up to 25 mph) from left to right, directly to the water that comes into play. Although Eagle is possible, that is also a disaster. Joel Dahmen hit two in the water and made an 8 earlier in the day. Chris Gotterup hit the water at 18 in three of his four rounds. Knapp, hoping for an eagle, his drink also made his drink.
Kitayama took 3-wood and hit a safe in the middle. Stevens made 5 to take the lead of the clubhouse at the age of 22, which means that Kitayama PAR needed to win. From 219 meters he pulled 5-iron and hit it in the bunker to the right of the green, although he had an uncomfortable position with the ball on a Downslope.
“When I came with the lie, I thought if I could just practice it, I knew it would not turn, and the wind had in it, I could be reasonably aggressive,” he said. “So I kept it a bit good. I knew that if I just got on the green, it would roll out.”
He splashed to 17 feet and needed two putts to win. The second was just a tap-in.
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