Kurt Kitayama was able to hold on to a one-stroke lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday, despite shooting even-par 72 in a round that included a double-bogey seven.
Kitayama sits at 9-under 207 after 54 holes, one stroke in front of Scottie Scheffler (third-round 68) and Viktor Hovland (66). Tyrrell Hatton, who vaulted 29 spots up the leaderboard with his 66, sits solo third at 7 under at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge.
Harris English (69) and Rory McIlroy (68) are tied for fifth place, well within striking distance at 6 under.
Kitayama had a double-bogey and bogey on the front nine. An errant drive led to a provisional on No. 4 on the way to a seven. But Kitayama rebounded on the back, posting four birdies, including on 18.
“Just proud of the way I fought,” Kitayama said. “Started off fairly solid first three holes and then one loose swing and I’m 2-over. Then got some uncomfortable shots coming in on that front nine. Bogey on 9. It’s just tough.
“Really proud of how I was able to fight back to even.”
He was able to hold a lead despite the hard charges from Scheffler, Hovland and Hatton, who all made substantial gains on moving day. Hovland and Hatton both posted clean cards, recording six birdies each in their round.
“I holed a really good par putt on 10. And that kind of, I guess, just really got me going,” Hatton said. “The putts I holed on the back nine, they weren’t exactly tap-ins. A lot of ’em were probably like 10, 12 feet. Which, percentage wise, you’re not going to make all of them. But, thankfully, today they kind of went in my favor.”
Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth are tied at 5 under after challenging rounds. Spieth carded a 74 while Thomas went for 72.
Pierceson Coody also shot up the leaderboard, jumping 46 spots into a tie for seventh, four shots off the lead.
“That 5-under on the front nine was awesome. It gave me an opportunity to shoot a great score like I did,” Coody said. “The back nine’s really tough. Those last four, five holes you’re kind of just holding on a little bit. You’re still trying to push the needle to make a few more birdies and luckily I did today.”
–Field Level Media