Sunday Swing | Kitayama and Ko Outlast Tough Competition

Welcome back to the Sunday Swing presented by 2nd Swing Golf. This week the PGA Tour was in Orlando for the Arnold Palmer Invitational- one of the designated events this year, while the LPGA Tour was in Singapore for the HSBC Women’s World Championship. 

Arnold Palmer Invitational - Tournament History

The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard was founded in 1979 when it took over for the Florida Citrus Open. This event carries a special meaning amongst the players due to the name attached to the title. Arnold Palmer is one of the game's greatest icons not only for his on course achievements, but for his charitable off course work and efforts in growing the game to what it is today. Along with the significance of Palmer’s great legacy, this event is also one of the Tour’s designated stops which means it features a $20,000,000 purse and a majority of the world’s best in the field. Bay Hill Club itself is always one of the most difficult courses on the entire schedule. Palmer and his team redesigned the course in 1989, where they transformed all of the greens and bunkers. The greens always run extremely fast and have a tendency to get faster and firmer as the week progresses. 

One of the names that comes to mind when looking back at this tournament’s history is Tiger Woods. Woods has won Arnie’s event a whopping eight times throughout his career. Included in those eight was a run of four wins in a row from 2000-2004, tying a tour record for most consecutive victories at the same event.

The previous five champions of this event are as follows: 

2023 - Kurt Kitayama (-9)
2022 - Scottie Scheffler (-5) 
2021 - Bryson DeChambeau (-11) 
2020 - Tyrrell Hatton (-4) 
2019 - Francesco Molinari (-12) 

The Big Swing 

This week the Big Swing goes to the underdog story that is Kurt Kitayama. The 30-year-old Kitayama entered the week as the No. 46 player in the world and was considered a longshot to win in a field that included every one of the world’s best. Kitayama is a good player who has a couple of victories on other tours, but had yet to step into the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour. He did most of his damage in the first two rounds after carding 67 and 68 to grab the lead heading into the weekend. He followed that up with an even par 72 on Saturday and held onto his lead heading into the final round, which would ultimately be his tallest task yet. After a solid start, Kitayama pulled his tee shot out of bounds on the ninth hole, resulting in a triple bogey that dropped him into a heated battle with some of the game’s brightest starts, including Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, and Patrick Cantlay.

On the back nine, six different players held or shared the lead but nobody could pull away as the conditions got even more difficult later into the afternoon. This turned out to be a good thing for Kitayama who just kept making pars until he reached the difficult par-3 17th. After an exceptional 5-iron to 14 feet, his birdie putt found the bottom of the hole and Kitayama had the lead back for the first time since the ninth hole. Kitayama’s final test was two-putting from 47 feet on the 18th green. He nearly holed it, and tapped in perhaps the shortest putt anyone has ever faced to win a tournament. In doing so, he became the first player since 1983 to make a triple bogey in the final round and go on to win. 

Winner’s Bag - Kurt Kitayama 

It’s time for Team TaylorMade. Kurt Kitayama is a true member of the team as his bag features virtually all TaylorMade equipment. His woods are a set of  TaylorMade Stealth 2’s featuring a Stealth 2 Plus driver (10.5 degrees), Stealth 2 HL 3-wood (16.5 degrees), and Stealth 2 7-wood (21 degrees). He also plays a combo set of irons that include the TaylorMade P7MC’s (4-6) and the TaylorMade P7MB’s (7-PW). Around the greens, Kitayama has a pair of TaylorMade MG3s (52 and 56 degrees), and one Titleist Vokey Design SM9 WedgeWorks (60 degrees). He also rolls the TaylorMade Spider X Hydro Blast putter.

In the World of Women’s Golf 

This week the best players in the women’s game were in Singapore for the HSBC Women's World Championship. Played at Sentosa Golf Club, the field features some big names including Nelly Korda, Danielle Kang, Jin Young Ko, Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson, Jennifer Kupcho, and more. This week was a treat as we got to see a battle between two former world No. 1 players in Korda and Jin Young Ko. While neither holds that title currently, they both still rank inside the top 5 and are both playing at a high level. Jin Young Ko won this event last year and was looking to defend her title. While she started slowly with a 72 in the opening round, she came alive on Friday and Saturday posting back to back rounds of 65 to take the 54 hole lead over Korda. Jin Young Ko started the final round with a two-shot cushion, and she had improved it to three after an opening nine 33. On the 13th hole, Korda made a costly bogey that essentially ended her chances. Jin Young Ko parred out to post 69 and win by two. Meanwhile, Korda made a couple of birdies coming in for her 69 to earn a solo runner-up finish. Rounding out the top 5 were Ayaka Furue, Danielle Kang, and Allisen Corpuz.