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ORLANDO, Fla. — Kurt Kitayama is chasing his first PGA Tour victory on the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a world-class group of contenders proper behind him.
Kitayama needs to be used to that.
Final yr alone, he fell 1 shot wanting Jon Rahm in Mexico, Xander Schauffele in Scotland and Rory McIlroy in South Carolina.
Kitayama dealt with the wind that solely made Bay Hill more durable, posting a 4-under 68 for a 2-shot lead Friday over Jordan Spieth, a three-time main champion and former No. 1 participant on this planet.
“Proper now, I really feel like I am simply making an attempt to get that win,” Kitayama mentioned. “It is robust, particularly with the fellows I have been towards. So I’ve simply bought to maintain placing myself in that place to present myself an opportunity.”
Rahm lastly appeared human. His remaining 5 holes included a double bogey, three bogeys and a birdie. He shot 76, his highest rating since a 76 within the third spherical of the PGA Championship final Could, and fell 6 photographs behind.
“How would I characterize it? What do you suppose I’ll say? Excuse my language, but it surely’s [expletive] exhausting,” Rahm mentioned.
He was smiling as he spoke, glad to be finished and resigned {that a} robust day on the workplace wouldn’t belong solely to him in these circumstances.
“It is agency. It is quick. And it is blowing 30 miles an hour,” he mentioned. “It is a very troublesome golf course.”
Kitayama was at 9-under 135, and the fast problem is Spieth, who tied for fourth in his lone look at Bay Hill.
Spieth reached the par 5s on the again 9 in two photographs to arrange birdies, holed an extended par putt on fifteenth, holed an extended birdie putt from the perimeter on the seventeenth after which bought an enormous break with what he referred to as the worst drive he ever hit with a snap hook that appeared sure to go out-of-bounds.
As a substitute, it settled on the base of a mesh boundary fence. Spieth’s solely play was to invert a sand wedge and play it left-handed. That will put his ft on the cart path, and from there he was entitled to a free drop.
“It was very fortunate,” Spieth mentioned. “The entire whole gap I ought to have made 6 or 7, and I sneaky virtually made a 4.”
He missed the par putt and needed to accept a 69 and a spot within the remaining group Saturday.
Cameron Young seemed to be proper there till the ultimate 4 holes. He was 1 shot behind till a pair of bogeys after which a shot from the thick tough into the water on the 18th for a double bogey and a 73. He was 5 behind.
Schauffele dropped only one shot — his method to the eleventh got here up quick and into the water, and he made an 18-foot putt to flee the bogey — and performed the ultimate 16 holes and not using a bogey. He shot 70 and was three behind together with Corey Conners, who had the low spherical of the day at 66.
“Felt like a 62,” Conners mentioned.
Justin Thomas managed eight birdies, just for a bogey-bogey end for a 67. He was within the group at 5-under 139 that included Patrick Cantlay (71) and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, who birdied his final three holes for a 69.
Kitayama plodded alongside even because the wind picked up. He was bogey-free till the par-5 sixteenth when he bought out of place off the tee and needed to play wanting the water together with his third shot, resulting in bogey.
However he answered with a 100-foot bunker shot to tap-in vary on the par-3 seventeenth, and with the wind at his again, hit hole wedge to 10 ft for birdie.
Kitayama does not want a PGA Tour occasion to get in some good competitors. He performs recurrently in Las Vegas with Schauffele and two-time main champion Collin Morikawa.
“Yeah, Kurt, we name him ‘Quadzilla’ or the ‘Quadfather.’ He is bought actually large legs,” Schauffele mentioned. “He is an excellent dude. He is a very good participant. He hangs robust and he is bought an excellent head on his shoulders. So not shocked to see him up there.”
There’s loads of energy from these legs on the 5-foot-7 Kitayama. After a tap-in birdie on the eleventh, he hammered a drive 361 yards on the par-5 twelfth, leaving solely an 8-iron to the inexperienced that arrange one other birdie.
McIlroy, in the meantime, bought underneath par for the primary time within the event on his twenty sixth gap, making a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 seventeenth gap. He birdied the par 5s on the entrance 9 and completed with a 69, nonetheless 7 behind Kitayama however not overly careworn about it.
“Kurt’s an ideal participant, however you take a look at a few of the folks which might be on 6 [under] behind him, like Xander,” McIlroy mentioned. “It is not the lead … however I really feel like if I can catch Xander, then I’ll get fairly near profitable the golf event.”
Two gamers needed to return Saturday morning to complete the second spherical. One was Greg Koch, within the tough on the troublesome par-4 ninth. If he made birdie, the reduce can be 1-over 145 and he would knock out seven gamers. A bogey would imply Koch misses the reduce.
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