By Frank Dalleres
I felt a little bit sorry for Rory McIlroy, whose hopes of returning to world No1 were dashed for the time being, but the Arnold Palmer Invitational witnessed a thrilling finish and an incredible first win on the PGA Tour for Kurt Kitayama on Sunday.
For anyone watching the famous tournament at Bay Hill unfold live it was ridiculously exciting, with seven players just one shot off the lead on seven under par at one stage, but Kitayama deserves all the plaudits.
He led overnight, only to find himself two shots behind after making a triple bogey at the ninth hole. But he showed great inner strength to fight his way back to the top of the leaderboard, and going one shot clear with a birdie at 17 – not really a birdie hole – was extra special.
Kitayama has had an unusual route to his first PGA Tour win, having turned professional in 2015 but only got his card 18 months ago. In between he became the fastest player to reach two wins on the DP World Tour, taking just 11 appearances on the European circuit.
At 30, he’s something of a late developer – or perhaps it’s a case of not having had the chances – but he’s doing the job now. Last week he putted well, his iron play looked good and more than anything he showed great heart.
This event is steeped in so much history that all the top players are desperate to win it, despite the potential distraction of some even bigger events on the horizon, and plenty had chances at Bay Hill.
Aside from McIlroy, who made seven birdies but five bogeys in a final round of 70, Jordan Spieth also made a charge. But having taken just 12 putts at the first 11 holes without playing well, he then couldn’t buy a putt and slipped out of contention.
Scottie Scheffler, too, was up there but faded with a 73 and joined Spieth in a share of fourth. Also alongside them was Tyrrell Hatton, who looked a good shout to win until his putter let him down. Still, a fourth top 10 finish in six events shows the Englishman is on the right track.
World No1 Jon Rahm, meanwhile, had a strange week. Having got off to a flying start with a 65 on Thursday, the Spaniard followed that with back-to-back rounds of 76.
It’s good to see so many of the tour’s top players showing form as a great run of tournaments begins. From Bay Hill it’s off to Sawgrass this week for the Players’ Championship and, in a month’s time, Augusta National for the Masters. I can’t wait to watch it all.
Sam Torrance OBE is a former Ryder Cup-winning captain and one of Europe’s most successful golfers. Follow him @torrancesam
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