ORLANDO, Florida — Kurt Kitayama is used to battling some of the best players as he searches for his first PGA Tour win. His biggest challenge was windy Bay Hill, and he handled that just fine with a 4-under 68 for an early lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Jon Rahm finally looked human. His final five holes included a double bogey, three bogeys and a birdie. He shot 76, his highest score since a 76 in the third round of the PGA Championship last May.
“How would I characterise it? What do you think I’m going to say? Excuse my language, but it’s (expletive) hard,” Rahm said according to AP.
He was smiling as he spoke, happy to be done and resigned that a tough day at the office would not belong only to him in these conditions.
“It’s firm. It’s fast. And it’s blowing 30 miles an hour,” he said. “It’s a very difficult golf course.”
Xander Schauffele dropped only one shot – his approach to the 11th came up short and into the water, and he made an 18-foot putt to escape the bogey – and played the final 16 holes without a bogey. He shot 70 and was three behind.
Corey Conners had the low round of the morning, somehow managing seven birdies in his round of 66. “Felt like a 62,” he said.
Kitayama plodded along even as the wind began to pick up. He was bogey-free until the par-5 16th when he got out of position off the tee and had to play short of the water with his third shot, leading to bogey.
But he answered with a 100-foot bunker shot to tap-in range on the par-3 17th, and with the wind at his back, hit gap wedge to 10 feet for birdie.
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