[PHOTO: David Berding]
The Project has turned out to produce some mighty impressive results.
Yes, that was Kurt Kitayama’s nickname in college while at UNLV because those around the program saw his potential but knew his game needed a lot of work. That nickname followed him early in his professional career as it took a while for him to gain his footing. The now-32-year-old from California competed on 10 tours around the world for eight years before earning a PGA Tour card for the 2022 season.
RELATED: Here are the clubs Kurt Kitayama used to win the 3M Open
That Project name can be officially put to bed, if it wasn’t already. Kitayama won the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational in his 50th PGA Tour start – holding off the likes of Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler.
This week at the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities, the man who was outside the top 100 in FedEx Cup standings to start the week made the cut by only two shots, then went berserk over the weekend with rounds of 60-65 to shoot 23-under 261 and top Sam Stevens by a shot.
After shooting the Saturday 60, which was nearly a 59, Kitayama opened the final round with birdies on five of the first six holes to take control. He shot 57 on the front nine combined on the weekend (28-29) and made 20 total birdies in two days to thrill the galleries in Blaine, Minnesota.
Although there were some nervy moments down the stretch, Kitayama held sturdy, used a laser approach game and walked away with the $US1.512 million first prize. He’s now 53rd in FedEx Cup points and is guaranteed a spot in the playoffs when they begin in two weeks in Memphis.
“I just think I was in control of my irons, especially getting off to the start today was my wedges got me into those positions,” Kitayama said. “I hit them tight. Kind of trusted that early on and took advantage of the shorter holes with the wedges. You know, you don’t expect to come out like that after shooting 11-under, and to come out like that was special.”
Kurt Kitayama reacts to his winning putt with his caddie and brother Daniel behind him. [Photo: Andrew Wevers]
Making this week more special for Kitayama was having his older brother Daniel on the bag for only the second time this year. Daniel said that the highlight of his week was watching his younger brother grind to make the cut then nearly shoot golf’s magic number on Saturday. They’ll get to spend more time together now as Kurt said there’s no chance he’s going to mess with a winning combination.
Kurt Kitayama said after the victory that he believed something like this was in the offing. He believed in his preparation, he knew he was working on the right things, and he knew that results were sure to follow. He just wasn’t always sure when they would come, whether it would be before or after the regular season ended.
Thankfully for him they came just in time. There were so many shots that were key in the final round but two in particular, both from bunkers, immediately spring to mind. Kitayama found a right fairway bunker on the dogleg-left, par-4 14th hole. He was 173 metres out and opted to take a 7-iron and fire at the pin even though it meant his ball needed to travel over water. He hit it to two feet and made birdie to take a three-shot lead with four holes remaining.
Shot of the day ‼️
Solo leader @Kurt_Kitayama throws a dart from the fairway bunker @3MOpen. pic.twitter.com/mpdzaovdQt
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 27, 2025
Then on the par-5 home hole, with everything on the line, Kitayama found a bunker back, right of the green. Facing a downhill lie, with an awkward stance, he blasted out to 17 feet and two putted to win.
For the week Kitayama led the field in strokes gained/approach, gaining nearly 10 shots on the field for the week.
“I think just what I’ve been working on is starting to kind of show overall,” said Kitayama, who only had two top-10 finishes this season. “I feel like my ball-striking kind of dipped a little bit earlier this year and now it’s starting to come into form, I think. That’s kind of been – last year I felt like I hit it really well and my putting kind of let me down last year. Now it’s starting to feel a lot better, starting to see some results there. That’s been the last probably month or two months that I’ve kind of noticed.”
Stevens was Kitayama’s closest pursuer in the end, although there was a time earlier in the round when there were 10 players within a shot of the lead. The 29-year-old Texan was looking for his first PGA Tour title and shot consecutive 66s on the weekend. However, he did not birdie the par-5 18th hole either day, something that cost him a chance.
“I’m not too disappointed,” Stevens said. “I would have liked to have had a chance to go for it on 18. That’s a pretty tough driving hole and I hit a pretty good drive. Just kind of overcut it just a little bit. But yeah, overall I’m very pleased. I needed a good finish here in the last couple of weeks to kind of move solidly inside the top 50, which is a big deal for next year, and I would think that I’m in a good spot for that now. Now I’m in the top 30 in the FedEx Cup. I’m happy about that. You know, get to tee it up again next week and give it another crack, so that’s good.”
Sam Stevens (left) and Jake Knapp shake hands on the last hole at TPC Twin Cities. [Photo: David Berding]
Jake Knapp was another who came to 18 with aspirations of doing something dramatic. He was only 179 metres from the green and hit what he thought was the perfect approach shot for an eagle chance. He could not believe it when the ball found a watery grave, ending his hopes of a second PGA Tour title and pushing him down and into a third-place tie when he ultimately made bogey.
“Obviously that second shot on 18 sucks,” he said. “I thought it was pretty perfect, to be honest. Other than that I feel like I hit it really solid. Even got just kind of a couple unfortunate bounces that either ended up just off the fairway in the rough or maybe just around the greens in the rough and did a good job of kind of grinding out, and gave myself some good looks on 15 and 16, wasn’t able to make them, but yeah, overall just a solid week.”
The biggest disappointment on Sunday came from the two men who held the lead standing on the first tee at TPC Twin Cities. Akshay Bhatia and Thorbjorn Olesen were co-leaders looking to make some noise. Bhatia was not pleased with his season to this point and Olesen was looking for his first PGA Tour title after winning eight times in Europe.
But both men played some of the worst golf of the day. Bhatia, a two-time tour winner, bogeyed three of his first four holes and shot a front-nine 39 en route to a 75 and a 25th-place tie. Olesen made three front-nine bogeys and shot a two-over 73 to tie for 14th place.
They were the only two players who finished inside the top 25 to shoot over par in the final round.
Meanwhile, Adam Scott (10-under, T-53) was the only Australian to make the cut, as Karl Vilips, Cam Davis, Aaron Baddeley and Harrison Endycott all had the weekend off.
