As far as front nines go for a 54-hole leader, Kurt Kitayama’s was as smooth as they come on Sunday at Bay Hill. Well, at least it was for the front eight.
At the par-4 ninth, one of if not the hardest holes on the course, things took an unbelievably unlucky turn for the two-time DP World Tour winner. After playing the first eight holes in two under and opening up his lead, Kitayama badly pulled his tee shot at No. 9 and got the most brutal break you’ll see all year on the PGA Tour. Â
Despite his ball being completely visible and seemingly playable, it was a literal inch left of the cart path, which is out of bounds at the ninth hole. Gutting:
One inch to the right and on the cart path and Kitayama’s ball would have been in play, which would have allowed him to punch out and attempt to gut out a par. Instead, he was informed this ball was out of play, meaning he had to re-tee. His third found a fairway bunker just left of the fairway, and he got another bad break with his lie, forcing a lay up.
Unfortunately for Kitayama, his lay up wasn’t very good either. His fourth shot found the right rough, leaving an 87-yard wedge shot. His fifth went just over the green and he was unable to make the 16-footer for double bogey. Standing on the tee, Kitayama was 11 under and ahead by two shots over Jordan Spieth. Walking off the green, he was now one back.
Kitayama has, impressively, settled down after the ninth-hole debacle, getting up-and-down for par at the 10th, parring 11 and holing a crucial six-footer for par at No. 12. Despite the triple, and despite the fact it was the second straight day he hit a tee shot out of bounds and made a 7, he is somehow tied for the lead again at eight under as of this writing.
