Kurt Kitayama maintained a narrow lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational as he draws within one round of securing a maiden PGA Tour victory. He holds the 54-hole lead/co-lead for the first time on Tour.
The 30-year-old Californian recovered from an early double bogey to eke out an even round of 72 on Saturday – enough to keep him on top of the leaderboard at nine under.
“I just feel like I’ve always grinded, no matter what I’m doing. Even just practice, trying to get better. Always been putting in the time. So I owe it to myself to, even when you get off to a rocky start, to keep fighting.”
Rolling it in at the last.@Kurt_Kitayama is the solo leader at 9-under after Round 3 @APInv. pic.twitter.com/uE4nGnOp0W
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 4, 2023
Kitayama leads by one from Norway’s Viktor Hovland and defending champion Scottie Scheffler of the USA.
“I think [tomorrow is] going to be a great battle,” said Scheffler. “There’s a lot of talented players on the leaderboard. You got Viktor, obviously, who plays great around this golf course and he’s a proven winner out here. Then you got Kurt’s up there on the board. He may not be a household name here, but he’s won a bunch times worldwide. JT up there. I saw Jordan. I mean I’m going to miss a few guys, but there’s a lot of guys up there”
With a win on Sunday Scheffler could return to World No.1 if Jon Rahm (currently T44) does not finish solo-second or in a two-way tie for second.
Also in the hunt at Bay Hill on Sunday will be England’s Tyrrell Hatton, who sits outright third on seven under.
The 31-year-old jumped 29 spots on Saturday courtesy of a bogey-free round of six-under 66.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy picked up four birdies without dropping a shot in the third round to keep in touch with the top of the leaderboard on six under.
