Arnold Palmer Invitational: Kurt Kitayama wins $3.6m on a thrilling Sunday

The iconic Bay Hill course threw up another exciting event featuring the world’s best golfers, and the Sunday was particularly thrilling with up to 8 golfers in contention. In the end, it was the man who dominated the first two days, Kurt Kitayama who won his first PGA Tour event.

The Sunday in this iconic tournament was something that would make compelling viewing on Netflix. The lead changed hands every hole, with so many golfers within a shot of the lead, including two of the world’s top three, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy along with Tyrell Hatton, Jordan Speith, Harris English and Viktor Hovland.

The slippery greens made it tough all weekend. It gradually got more difficult as the weekend progressed which set up a thrilling finale. So many putts were millimetres from giving several golfers the lead, and there was a flurry of bogeys and birdies. The par 3’s particularly challenged the field.

After a double bogey on the 9th for Kitayama, chaos ensued. He was in control for the first three days but was caught on Sunday by a series of impressive shots. After that, Speith had the lead and he looked in full confidence.

However, Jordan Speith contributed to the madness. It must have felt extremely unlucky from his side. He missed multiple birdie attempts by a matter of inches. The frustration grew and he was never quite able to accelerate into the lead. The same can be said for Tyrell Hatton, who is usually so unaffected by adversity.

The comeback of the day goes to Rory McIlroy. After bogeying the first two, the TV coverage gave up on him just like we did. He was astonishingly good in the back nine, and from the 7th tee. He seemed to just knock them in and put himself into contention. He will kick himself after missing a put from 10ft on the last which would have inevitably forced a playoff.

All the credit goes to Kurt Kitayama though. He was calm and assured all weekend, and after a tee shot into the rough on the last, he kept composed. On his second shot, he hit a fantastic shot on the green and within 50ft of glory.

What a stunning shot it was from there. We have seen it so often before where a player begins to panic and adrenaline overwhelms them and they overhit a shot, particularly on these greens. He calmly putted it right on the hole – we were hoping for a Tiger Woods finish where the ball just tumbled in, but gravity did not cave. He eventually tapped in and bagged $3.6m after a great weekend.

Kurt Kitayama earned a place at The Open after his great performance and will have ambitions to build on this. In terms of an advert for the PGA Tour, it is not much more than this Sunday. With three holes to go, we had no idea who was going to lift the trophy.

It is a short wait as the first major arrives this weekend at The Players championship. This major will give a good read on who is in contention at Augusta next month. Jon Rahm will inevitably be hoping for better this weekend coming.