With his brother on the bag, Kurt Kitayama fires career-low 60 Saturday at the 3M Open
Kurt Kitayama started the third round at the 2025 3M Open eight shots behind the 36-hole leader, Thorbjorn Olesen. He finished just before 1:30 p.m. ET with the outright lead, three strokes clear of the field.
After posting a 28 on the outward nine, he spent the entire back nine on 59 watch, but a bogey at the par-3 17th all but dashed Kitayama's hopes of joining that prestigious club. He walked to the tee at the par-5 18th needing eagle, and after his tee ball found the right rough, he decided to lay up and give himself a good chance for birdie.
"[My ball] was just like a foot in the rough and the lie was — I needed to be a foot in the first cut and I would have gone for it. It was just very questionable, 220 out, I didn't really know if it would jump out of there or maybe just dive. Had a good round going so that would have really stunk if it goes in the water there."
Still, he nearly salvaged the 59 with this shot into the green:
The 32-year-old California native ultimately signed for an 11-under 60 and entered the clubhouse at 17 under for the tournament after narrowly sneaking inside the 5-under cutline Friday.
"Yesterday's round felt like I didn't have any control," Kitayama said. "I hit some balls after, talked to my coach, Chris Como, and kind of worked through some things on the range. Felt like I found something that I could go with. And warming up today, felt pretty good and it kind of showed on the course. Yeah, was happy I was able to find that."
He might have felt comfortable warming up, but he certainly didn't think he'd be flirting with 59.
"I don't think you really have a number [in mind] going out into any round, just kind of take what you can get. You know, as it comes down the stretch, then the number kind of pops in your mind."
The number ended up being 60, which shatters his previous career low of 62, and according to the man himself, it's the best round he's ever played.
"Well, it's not only my Tour career best, it's like my personal best. Yeah, it means a lot, especially to have my brother on the bag. It's a really cool experience having that opportunity coming down the stretch. And yeah, it's good to have that momentum going into the final round."
Kitayama will now enter Sunday in prime position to capture his second career PGA Tour victory — his first of which came at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational. It's been somewhat of a slog for Kitayama in 2025. He has just four top 25 finishes in 18 starts and entered this week 110th in the race for the FedEx Cup.
Another solid round Sunday and he could be walking away in much better standing, which is vital given that next week's Wyndham Championship is the final regular season event on the PGA Tour's 2025 calendar. The FedEx Cup playoffs begin the following week at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis.
Keep up with all the action from Saturday's third round at the 2025 3M Open with our live updates page.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
2 minutes ago
- USA Today
FedEx St. Jude Championship matchup, prop picks: Justin Thomas or Russell Henley?
The FedExCup Playoffs are set with the top 70 players in the year-long standings vying to win the Tour Championship at East Lake in a few weeks. Things kick off on Thursday with the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first leg of the playoffs at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn. Below, we search for the best value prop bets for the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship from BetMGM Sportsbook's odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions. There are 70 players in the FedExCup Playoffs, but only 69 are playing this week because Rory McIlroy is skipping the FedEx St. Jude Championship. The top 50 players in the standings after this week will advance to the BMW Championship, with McIlroy already locking up a spot in the top 50. Scottie Scheffler is the favorite to win in Memphis at +300, with Xander Schauffele (+1400) coming in as the second-favorite. Tommy Fleetwood (+2200), Justin Thomas (+2500) and Ludvig Aberg (+2500) are among the top contenders to win, as well. TPC Southwind is a difficult course that plays at 7,288 yards as a par 70, featuring water hazards throughout the property. The winning score has been between 13-under and 17-under each year since 2019, with this being the fourth year as a FedExCup Playoffs event on the calendar. FedEx St. Jude Championship – Top-5 picks Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 7:37 p.m. ET. Hovland has contended here in recent years, finishing second in 2024, 13th in 2023 and 20th in 2022. That's a testament to his ball-striking, which gives him a big advantage with how well he hits his irons. Thomas won this event in 2020 before it was a playoff event, so he knows how to take care of business at TPC Southwind. Since 2019, he also has finishes of 12th, 13th and 26th, showing his victory was no fluke. FedEx St. Jude Championship – Top-10 picks It's hard to bet Fleetwood to win at this point after seeing him give away the Travelers Championship in June, but this course is perfect for him. He's finished third, fourth and 22nd in 3 of his 5 starts since 2019, coming close to winning here in the past. Straka is as good an iron player as there is right now so he's someone to take seriously at a course like TPC Southwind. He finished second in 2022 when he lost in a playoff to Will Zalatoris, nearly taking home the title that week. Berger's coures history is the best of any player in the field, winning in 2016 and 2017, with finishes of second and fifth in 2020 and 2021, respectively. His lone hiccup was a missed cut in 2018, but other than that, he's been lights out in his last 5 starts here. FedEx St. Jude Championship – Top-20 picks Spieth must kick things into gear now and TPC Southwind is a good place for him to get going, having come in 12th in 2019, 12th in 2021 and sixth in 2023. He struggled here last year but if he can dial in his irons, he'll have a chance to contend. Im was sixth in 2023 and 12th in 2022 at this event, playing well 2 years in a row at TPC Southwind. It's been a disappointing year for him in 2025, but he did show signs of improvement last week with a T-27 at the Wyndham Championship. Rose can never be counted out at this point in his career, especially at a place where he's come in 22nd and 20th the last two years, with an 11th-place showing in 2019. He nearly won the Masters and finished 16th at the Open Championship, so he's been in good form. WATCH: Get ESPN+ FedEx St. Jude Championship – Matchups Suggested play is golfer in bold. Justin Thomas (+105) vs. Russell Henley (-135) Thomas is a former champion and could be poised to go on a run in the playoffs. His worst finish in this event since 2019 is 26th, so his floor should be fairly high. FedEx St. Jude Championship – Top English Fleetwood is the favorite in this market over Matt Fitzpatrick (+250) and Aaron Rai (+300), and he should be. He's played great all year and while he doesn't have a win, he has been in contention. FedEx St. Jude Championship – Top Korean It's Im vs. Si Woo Kim (-125) in this market as the only two Koreans in the field. Take the underdog Im at a course where he's played well before. FedEx St. Jude Championship – First-round leader Fleetwood fired rounds of 66 and 66 in the last two years to open this event, so he's been close to claiming the first-round lead each time. He's comfortable at TPC Southwind and could be in for a big week. Play our free daily Pick'em Challenge and win! Play now! For more sports betting picks and tips, check out and BetFTW. Golfweek: Follow @camdasilva on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook.
USA Today
31 minutes ago
- USA Today
Scottie Scheffler dishes on British Open celebration, taking the Claret Jug out and about
Scottie Scheffler and the Claret Jug, golf's oldest championship trophy, have been getting acquainted with each other since the world No. 1 won the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush last month. 'We had a party two weeks ago at home with some of our friends, and everybody got to drink out of it,' he said on Wednesday ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship. 'It was a lot of fun.' Scheffler didn't mention what they drank out of it, but that wasn't the only time the silver trophy served up beverages of some sort. More: Scottie Scheffler's putting stats should scare his PGA Tour opponents 'I brought it up to Royal Oaks a couple times, my home course, and one afternoon I think Meredith was getting a haircut or something, and I was resting and so I had Bennett, and I took him to Royal Oaks,' Scheffler recalled. 'He whacked some golf balls around, and we hung out for a bit. I took him to the 19th hole with me, and I got some pretty funny pictures with Bennett sitting in the 19th hole at the men's only grill where you've got to be – I think you've got to be 19 to get in there, but I figured if we bring in a couple major championship trophies with us, they'll let the rules slide on that one.' Scottie Scheffler's trophy room now has a Claret Jug When the famed trophy isn't out making the rounds, Scheffler said he keeps it in his trophy room at his house. He also is the current custodian of the Wanamaker Trophy, the prize awarded to the winner of the PGA Championship, which he won in May. 'Right now, I think both trophies are in there next to each other. The Wanamaker, when we went over to Europe, it was sitting up there at Royal Oaks, and I'm sure I'll bring both the trophies back up there for them to be able to celebrate with as well,' he said. 'It's pretty cool. The Masters, you get the Green Jacket for a year and the Wanamaker is a big old trophy and then the Claret Jug is kind of the perfect size where you can just carry it around and sometimes people don't even really know you have it. It's fun.' Indeed, it must be fun to be Scheffler, who will look to defend another trophy sitting in his trophy case later this month. Scheffler is the current holder of the FedEx Cup and the playoffs begin this week – though Scheffler already has secured his place at the Tour Championship.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
FedEx St. Jude Championship: Tee times for Thursday, Friday tournament play
The FedEx Cup Playoffs begin this weekend with the St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind. Since the inception of the playoffs in 2007, no golfer has ever won back-to-back FedEx Cups. Sure, we've seen some dominant forces like Rory McIlroy, who has won the Cup three times, or Tiger Woods earned both the inaugural and third-ever FedEx Cup, but no one has ever earned the honor in back-to-back years. Scottie Scheffler has the chance to make history this year, and with how well he's been playing, you'd be a fool to bet against him. That said, there are dozens of elite golfers all vying for the Cup this year. It would come as no shock if someone like Collin Morikawa, Sepp Straka, or Maverick McNealy earned the Cup as well, especially considering one of the biggest competitors, Rory McIlroy decided not to tee it up for the first tournament of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. The St. Jude Championship will eliminate 19 golfers from the contenders' pool, narrowing the field from 69 to just 50. The final tournament, the Tour Championship, will consist of just the top-30 golfers. Here are the tee times for the opening two rounds of this weekend's event. Golf News: CBS boasts most-watched golf season in 7 years as 2025 Wyndham Championship ratings soar Tee Times for St. Jude Championship: All times ET.
